Estrogen receptor beta polymorphism is associated with prostate cancer risk.
OBJECTIVE
After cloning of the second estrogen receptor, estrogen receptor beta (ERbeta) in 1996, increasing evidence of its importance in prostate cancer development has been obtained. ERbeta is thought to exert an antiproliferative and proapoptotic effect. We examined whether sequence variants in the ERbeta gene are associated with prostate cancer risk.


METHODS
We conducted a large population-based case-control study (CAncer Prostate in Sweden, CAPS) consisting of 1,415 incident cases of prostate cancer and 801 controls. We evaluated 28 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) spanning the entire ERbeta gene from the promoter to the 3'-untranslated region in 94 subjects of the control group. From this, we constructed gene-specific haplotypes and selected four haplotype-tagging SNPs (htSNP: rs2987983, rs1887994, rs1256040, and rs1256062). These four htSNPs were then genotyped in the total study population of 2,216 subjects.


RESULTS
There was a statistically significant difference in allele frequency between cases and controls for one of the typed htSNPs (rs2987983), 27% in cases and 24% in controls (P = 0.03). Unconditional logistics regression showed an odds ratio of 1.22 (95% confidence interval, 1.02-1.46) for men carrying the variant allele TC or CC versus the wild-type TT, and an odds ratio of 1.33 (95% confidence interval, 1.08-1.64) for localized cancer. No association of prostate cancer risk with any of the other SNPs or with any haplotypes were seen.


CONCLUSIONS
We found an association with a SNP located in the promoter region of the ERbeta gene and risk of developing prostate cancer. The biological significance of this finding is unclear, but it supports the hypothesis that sequence variation in the promoter region of ERbeta is of importance for risk of prostate cancer.
Thellenberg-Karlsson
Camilla
C
Department of Radiation Sciences/Oncology, University of Umeå, Umeå, Sweden.
Lindström
Sara
S
Malmer
Beatrice
B
Wiklund
Fredrik
F
Augustsson-Bälter
Katarina
K
Adami
Hans-Olov
HO
Stattin
Par
P
Nilsson
Maria
M
Dahlman-Wright
Karin
K
Gustafsson
Jan-Ake
JA
Grönberg
Henrik
H
D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004252:DNA Mutational Analysis; D004273:DNA, Neoplasm / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D047629:Estrogen Receptor beta / Q000235:genetics*; D005091:Exons / Q000235:genetics; D005787:Gene Frequency; D006239:Haplotypes / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D007438:Introns / Q000235:genetics; D015810:Linkage Disequilibrium; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016017:Odds Ratio; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide / Q000235:genetics*; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic / Q000235:genetics; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics*; D012307:Risk Factors
D004273:DNA, Neoplasm; D047629:Estrogen Receptor beta