Genetics of Prostate Cancer–for health professionals (PDQ®)

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Changes to This Summary (11/05/2015)

The PDQ cancer information summaries are reviewed regularly and updated as new information becomes available. This section describes the latest changes made to this summary as of the date above.

Introduction

Added text to state that African American men have been reported to have approximately twice the rate of prostate cancer–specific death compared with non-Hispanic white men. Also added text to state that differences in race-specific prostate cancer survival estimates may be narrowing over time (cited Zeng et al. as reference 5).

Revised text to state that genetic contribution to prostate cancer risk has been documented, and there is increasing knowledge of the molecular genetics of the disease, although much of what is known is not yet clinically actionable.

Identifying Genes and Inherited Variants Associated With Prostate Cancer Risk

Added text about a study in which 49 risk single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were genotyped in 2,696 Swedish men, and a polygenic risk score was calculated. On the basis of their genetic risk scores, 172 men underwent biopsy. Prostate cancer was diagnosed in 27% of these individuals, and 6% had Gleason 7 or higher disease (cited Nordström et al. as reference 216); the utility of this strategy for identifying who should undergo prostate biopsy is yet to be determined.

Added text about a genome-wide analysis in which two of the largest international prostate cancer genotyped cohorts were combined for analysis and no SNP was associated with prostate cancer–specific survival (cited Szulkin et al. as reference 237).

This summary is written and maintained by the PDQ Cancer Genetics Editorial Board, which is editorially independent of NCI. The summary reflects an independent review of the literature and does not represent a policy statement of NCI or NIH. More information about summary policies and the role of the PDQ Editorial Boards in maintaining the PDQ summaries can be found on the About This PDQ Summary and PDQ® - NCI's Comprehensive Cancer Database pages.

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Genetics of Prostate Cancer - National Cancer Institute