Genome-Wide Scan of Early-onset Prostate Cancer

This is a genome-wide association scan of 931 early-onset prostate cancer cases of European ancestry. The samples were selected from prostate cancer studies at the University of Michigan. Controls were previously genotyped individuals selected from the Cancer Genetics Markers of Susceptibility (CGEMS) and Illumina's iControlDB database.]]>
All subjects were unrelated men of European-ancestry diagnosed with prostate cancer before age 56.]]>
In 2008, prostate cancer (PCa) was the most commonly diagnosed cancer among men in the United States, with an estimated 186,320 new cases, and the second leading cause of cancer related mortality, with an estimated 28,660 related deaths. Identification of genes or other genomic variants that increase the susceptibility to PCa would impact public health by providing valuable biological data related to the development of PCa. PCa gene discoveries could additionally lead to novel treatment of PCa and provide a valuable additional screening tool for identification of men at increased risk for PCa. Men diagnosed with PCa at an early age are much more likely to die of the disease than men diagnosed later in life, and it has been shown that early-onset (EO) PCa is more likely due to genetic risk factors than later-onset disease. This study was designed to be a powerful and unprecedented opportunity to identify genetic susceptibility variants that are associated with EO PCa using well characterized samples from two investigative teams that have a long history of collaboration in PCa research. ]]>