Genetic Analysis Reveals a Significant Contribution of CES1 to Prostate Cancer Progression in Taiwanese Men

The genes that influence prostate cancer progression remain largely unknown. Since the carboxylesterase gene family plays a crucial role in xenobiotic metabolism and lipid/cholesterol homeostasis, we hypothesize that genetic variants in carboxylesterase genes may influence clinical outcomes for prostate cancer patients. A total of 478 (36 genotyped and 442 imputed) single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in five genes of the carboxylesterase family were assessed in terms of their associations with biochemical recurrence (BCR)-free survival in 643 Taiwanese patients with prostate cancer who underwent radical prostatectomy. The strongest association signal was shown in CES1 (P = 9.64 × 10(−4) for genotyped SNP rs8192935 and P = 8.96 × 10(−5) for imputed SNP rs8192950). After multiple test correction and adjustment for clinical covariates, CES1 rs8192935 (P = 9.67 × 10(−4)) and rs8192950 (P = 9.34 × 10(−5)) remained significant. These SNPs were correlated with CES1 expression levels, which in turn were associated with prostate cancer aggressiveness. Furthermore, our meta-analysis, including eight studies, indicated that a high CES1 expression predicted better outcomes among prostate cancer patients (hazard ratio 0.82, 95% confidence interval 0.70–0.97, P = 0.02). In conclusion, our findings suggest that CES1 rs8192935 and rs8192950 are associated with BCR and that CES1 plays a tumor suppressive role in prostate cancer.