Significance of common variants on human chromosome 8q24 in relation to the risk of prostate cancer in native Japanese men

BACKGROUND: Common variants on human chromosome 8q24, rs1447295 (C/A) and rs6983267 (T/G), have been recently linked to the prevalence of prostate cancer in European and American populations. Here, we evaluated whether the single-nucleotide polymorphisms rs1447295 and rs6983267 were associated with the risk of sporadic prostate cancer as well as latent prostate cancer in a native Japanese population. RESULTS: We analyzed genomic DNA samples from 391 sporadic prostate cancer patients, 323 controls who had died from causes unrelated to cancer and 112 Japanese men who were diagnosed as having latent prostate cancer based on autopsy results. The polymorphisms were determined by allelic discrimination using a fluorescent-based TaqMan assay. The A allele of rs1447295 was significantly associated with the risk of sporadic prostate cancer (p = 0.04; age-adjusted OR, 1.34), while the G allele of rs6983267 showed a trend towards being a high-risk allele (p = 0.06; age-adjusted OR, 1.27). No significant difference between these two polymorphisms and the risk of latent prostate cancer was observed in the present Japanese population. CONCLUSION: Known variants on human chromosome 8q24 may be risk factors for sporadic prostate cancer in native Japanese men.