Published in Nature Genetics, 2021
Trans-ancestry genome-wide association meta-analysis of prostate cancer identifies new susceptibility loci and informs genetic risk prediction
David V Conti et al.
Prostate cancer has one of the strongest inherited genetic components of any cancer. Epidemiologic data including from the HPFS has shown that men with a family history of prostate cancer in fathers or brothers are at increased risk of prostate cancer, including aggressive forms of disease. HPFS investigators have participated in international consortia to identify the specific genetic variants associated with prostate cancer. In the latest study, HPFS participants were part of a multiethnic study among 107,000 prostate cancer patients and 127,000 men without prostate cancer. This analysis identified 86 new inherited genetic variants, bringing the total of validated genetic markers associated with prostate cancer to 269. Combining all of the variants together into a genetic score, men in the top 10% of the score had a 5-times greater risk of prostate cancer compared to men of average genetic risk. The results of this study may help identify the biologic causes of prostate cancer, as well as to use the genetic risk score for personalized early cancer detection.