Length and somatic mosaicism of CAG and GGN repeats in the androgen receptor gene and the risk of prostate cancer in men with benign prostatic hyperplasia.
BACKGROUND
The most common malignancy in men worldwide is cancer of the prostate and determinants of prostate cancer (PRCa) risk remain largely unidentified. Many candidate genes may be involved in PRCa, such as those that are central to cellular growth and differentiation in the prostate gland. We analysed the polymorphic CAG and GGN repeats sequence in exon 1 of the AR gene to determine if the number of repeats might be an indicator of PRCa risk in patients with BPH.


METHODS
The study evaluated 28 patients who presented with PRCa at least 6 years after the diagnosis of BPH and 56 matched patients with BPH who did not progress to PRCa over a comparable period.


RESULTS
This study showed no evidence for association between the size of AR CAG and GGN repeats and the risk of the development of PRCa in patients with BPH. However, BPH patients with AR CAG instability had a 12-fold increased risk in development of PRCa.


CONCLUSIONS
While independent confirmation is required in further studies, these results provide a potential tool to assist prediction strategies for this important disease.
Departments of Medicine, Institute of Medical Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Foresterhill, Aberdeen, UK. tayebmohammed@hotmail.com
Mohammed T
MT
Tayeb
Caroline
C
Clark
Graeme I
GI
Murray
Linda
L
Sharp
Neva E
NE
Haites
Howard L
HL
McLeod
D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005819:Genetic Markers / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009030:Mosaicism / Q000235:genetics*; D009154:Mutation / Q000235:genetics; D011470:Prostatic Hyperplasia / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics*; D011944:Receptors, Androgen / Q000235:genetics*; D012307:Risk Factors; D018911:Trinucleotide Repeats / Q000235:genetics*
D005819:Genetic Markers; D011944:Receptors, Androgen