title: Circulating leukocyte telomere length and risk of overall and aggressive prostate cancer.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Recent large-scale prospective studies suggest that long telomeres are associated with an increase cancer risk, counter to conventional wisdom.
  
  
  METHODS
  To further clarify the association between leukocyte telomere length (LTL) and prostate cancer, and assess genetic variability in relation to both LTL and prostate cancer, we performed a nested case-control study (922 cases and 935 controls). The participants provided blood in 1993-1995 and were followed through August 2004 (prostate cancer incidence) or until 28 February 2013 (lethal or fatal prostate cancer). Relative LTL was measured by quantitative PCR and was calculated as the ratio of telomere repeat copy number to a single gene (36B4) copy number (T/S). Genotyping was performed using the TaqMan OpenArray SNP Genotyping Platform. Logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of all prostate cancer and subtypes defined by Gleason grade, stage and lethality (metastasis or death).
  
  
  RESULTS
  We observed a positive association between each s.d. increase in LTL and all (multivariable-adjusted OR 1.11, 95% CI: 1.01-1.22), low-grade (OR 1.13, 95% CI:1.01-1.27), and localised (OR 1.12, 95% CI:1.01-1.24) prostate cancer. Associations for other subtypes were similar, but did not reach statistical significance. In subgroup analyses, associations for high grade and advanced stage (OR=2.04, 95% CI 1.00-4.17; Pinteraction=0.06) or lethal disease (OR=2.37, 95% CI 1.19-4.72; Pinteraction=0.01) were stronger in men with a family history of the disease compared with those without. The minor allele of SNP, rs7726159, which has previously been shown to be positively associated with LTL, showed an inverse association with all prostate cancer risk after correction for multiple testing (P=0.0005).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In this prospective study, longer LTL was modestly associated with higher risk of prostate cancer. A stronger association for more aggressive cancer in men with a family history of the disease needs to be confirmed in larger studies.
authors.affiliation: 1] Channing Division of Network Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA [2] Department of Epidemiology, Program in Genetic Epidemiology and Statistical Genetics, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA [3] Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Julin
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Shui
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
authors.forename: C M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Heaphy
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA.
authors.forename: C E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Joshu
authors.affiliation: 1] Department of Pathology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA [2] Department of Urology and the James Buchanan Brady Urological Institute, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA [3] Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, MD, USA.
authors.forename: A K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Meeker
authors.affiliation: 1] Channing Division of Network Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA [2] Department of Epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA [3] Department of Nutrition, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Giovannucci
authors.affiliation: 1] Channing Division of Network Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA [2] Department of Epidemiology, Program in Genetic Epidemiology and Statistical Genetics, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: De Vivo
authors.affiliation: 1] Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA [2] Department of Urology and the James Buchanan Brady Urological Institute, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA [3] Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, MD, USA.
authors.forename: E A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Platz
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D006801:Humans; D007962:Leukocytes / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology; D012307:Risk Factors; D016615:Telomere; D059505:Telomere Homeostasis / Q000235:genetics