Serum androgens and prostate cancer among 643 cases and 643 controls in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition.
We examined the hypothesis that serum concentrations of circulating androgens and sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) are associated with risk for prostate cancer in a case-control study nested in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC). Concentrations of androstenedione, testosterone, androstanediol glucuronide and SHBG were measured in serum samples for 643 prostate cancer cases and 643 matched control participants, and concentrations of free testosterone were calculated. Conditional logistic regression models were used to calculate odds ratios for risk of prostate cancer in relation to the serum concentration of each hormone. After adjustment for potential confounders, there was no significant association with overall risk for prostate cancer for serum total or free testosterone concentrations (highest versus the lowest thirds: OR, 1.02; 95% CI, 0.73-1.41 and OR, 1.07, 95% CI, 0.74-1.55, respectively) or for other androgens or SHBG. Subgroup analyses showed significant heterogeneity for androstenedione by cancer stage, with a significant inverse association of androstenedione concentration and risk for advanced prostate cancer. There were also weak positive associations between free testosterone concentration and risk for total prostate cancer among younger men and risk for high-grade disease. In summary, in this large nested case-control study, concentrations of circulating androgens or SHBG were not strongly associated with risk for total prostate cancer. However, our findings are compatible with a positive association of free testosterone with risk in younger men and possible heterogeneity in the association with androstenedione concentration by stage of disease; these findings warrant further investigation.
Travis
Ruth C
RC
Cancer Research UK Epidemiology Unit, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom. ruth.travis@ceu.ox.ac.uk
Key
Timothy J
TJ
Allen
Naomi E
NE
Appleby
Paul N
PN
Roddam
Andrew W
AW
Rinaldi
Sabina
S
Egevad
Lars
L
Gann
Peter H
PH
Rohrmann
Sabine
S
Linseisen
Jakob
J
Pischon
Tobias
T
Boeing
Heiner
H
Johnsen
Nina Føns
NF
Tjønneland
Anne
A
Overvad
Kim
K
Kiemeney
Lambertus
L
Bueno-de-Mesquita
H Bas
HB
Bingham
Sheila
S
Khaw
Kay-Tee
KT
Tumino
Rosario
R
Sieri
Sabina
S
Vineis
Paolo
P
Palli
Domenico
D
Quirós
José Ramón
JR
Ardanaz
Eva
E
Chirlaque
Maria-Dolores
MD
Larrañaga
Nerea
N
Gonzalez
Carlos
C
Sanchez
Maria-José
MJ
Trichopoulou
Antonia
A
Bikou
Chrysa
C
Trichopoulos
Dimitrios
D
Stattin
Pär
P
Jenab
Mazda
M
Ferrari
Pietro
P
Slimani
Nadia
N
Riboli
Elio
E
Kaaks
Rudolf
R
D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000728:Androgens / Q000097:blood*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005060:Europe; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016017:Odds Ratio; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000097:blood* / Q000473:pathology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D012738:Sex Hormone-Binding Globulin / Q000032:analysis
D000728:Androgens; D012738:Sex Hormone-Binding Globulin