P os a e Cance and P os a ic Diseases (2018) 21:228–237
h ps://doi.o g/10.1038/s41391-017-0029-2
ARTICLE
Ge mline a ian s in IL4,MGMT and AKT1 a e associa ed wi h
p os a e cance -specific mo ali y: An analysis o 12,082 p os a e
cance cases
L. M. Fi zGe ald 1,2 ●S. Zhao3●A. Leona dson4●M. S. Geybels4,5 ●S. Kolb4●D. W. Lin4,6 ●J. L. W igh 4,6 ●
R. Eeles 7,8 ●Z. Ko e-Ja ai7●K. Go indasami7●G. G. Giles2,9 ●M. C. Sou hey10 ●J. Schleu ke 11,12 ●T. L. Tammela13,14 ●
C. Sipeky 11 ●K. L. Penney15,16 ●M. J. S amp e 15,16,17 ●H. G onbe g18 ●F. Wiklund18 ●P. S a in19,20 ●J. Hugosson21 ●
D. M. Ka yadi22 ●E. A. Os ande 22 ●Z. Feng23 ●J. L. S an o d4,24
Recei ed: 9 Sep embe 2017 / Re ised: 9 No embe 2017 / Accep ed: 20 No embe 2017 / Published online: 3 Janua y 2018
© The Au ho (s) 2018. This a icle is published wi h open access
Abs ac
Backg ound P os a e cance (PCa) is a leading cause o mo ali y and gene ic ac o s can influence umou agg essi eness.
Se e al ge mline a ian s ha e been associa ed wi h PCa-specific mo ali y (PCSM), bu u he eplica ion e idence is
needed.
Me hods Twen y- wo p e iously iden ified PCSM-associa ed gene ic a ian s we e geno yped in se en PCa coho s (12,082
pa ien s; 1544 PCa dea hs). Fo each coho , Cox p opo ional haza ds models we e used o calcula e haza d a ios and 95%
confidence in e als o isk o PCSM associa ed wi h each a ian . Da a we e hen combined using a me a-analysis
app oach.
Resul s Fi een SNPs we e associa ed wi h PCSM in a leas one o he se en coho s. In he me a-analysis, a e adjus men
o clinicopa hological ac o s, a ian s in he MGMT ( s2308327; HR 0.90; p- alue =3.5 ×10−2)andIL4 ( s2070874; HR
1.22; p- alue =1.1 ×10−3) genes we e confi med o be associa ed wi h isk o PCSM. In analyses limi ed o men diagnosed
wi h local o egional s age disease, a a ian in AKT1, s2494750, was also confi med o be associa ed wi h PCSM isk (HR
0.81; p- alue =3.6 ×10−2).
Conclusions This me a-analysis confi ms he associa ion o h ee gene ic a ian s wi h isk o PCSM, p o iding u he
e idence ha gene ic backg ound plays a ole in PCa-specific su i al. While hese a ian s alone a e no su ficien as
p ognos ic bioma ke s, hese esul s may p o ide insigh s in o he biological pa hways modula ing umou agg essi eness.
In oduc ion
Fo men in many de eloped coun ies, p os a e cance
(PCa) is he second leading cause o cance - ela ed dea hs.
While PCa mo ali y a es ha e been declining, he numbe
o PCa dea hs in Wes e n coun ies is p ojec ed o be sus-
ained o decades based on aging o he popula ions [1].
T adi ionally, clinicians ha e assessed a man’s likelihood
o ha ing a biologically agg essi e p os a e umou using
clinical and pa hological ea u es assessed a diagnosis,
including Gleason sco e, umou s age, and se um p os a e-
specific an igen (PSA) le el [2]. Resea che s ha e pos u-
la ed ha genomic bioma ke s may be able o dis inguish
indolen om agg essi e PCa umou s, and se e al s udies
ha e iden ified issue-based bioma ke s [3,4]. Tes ing p i-
ma y umou issue o p ognos ic bioma ke s may help
iden i y cases a highe isk o PCa-specific mo ali y
(PCSM) [5] and who would benefi mos om being ea ed
agg essi ely ea ly in he disease cou se. We pos ula e ha i
is also impo an o conside he hos ’s gene ic backg ound
and i s po en ial influence on PCa ou comes.
To add ess his issue, ou g oup p e iously assessed
ge mline gene ic a ian s in genes om specific biological
pa hways hypo hesised o a ec me as a ic p og ession,
o de e mine i geno ype was ela ed o PCSM [6].
Twen y- wo PCSM-associa ed a ian s we e iden ified in a
*J. L. S an o d
[email p o ec ed]
Ex ended au ho in o ma ion a ailable on he las page o he a icle
Supplemen a y In o ma ion The online e sion o his a icle
(h ps://doi.o g/10.1038/s41391-017-0029-2) con ains supplemen a y
ma e ial, which is a ailable o au ho ised use s.
1234567890
Sea le-based disco e y coho , and alida ion in a Swedish
coho confi med ha he a ian s in fi e genes, LEPR,
CRY1,RNASEL,IL4 and ARVCF, we e significan ly asso-
cia ed wi h PCSM. Subsequen s udies p o ided addi ional
e idence o eplica ion o he ARVCF a ian in he Phy-
sicians’Heal h S udy (PHS) pa icipan s wi h PCa [7] and
a ian s in RNASEL,XRCC1 and AKT1 in PCa cases pa -
icipa ing in he amily-based P os a e Cance Gene ic
Resea ch S udy (PROGRESS)[8]. As hese p io s udies
had some sho comings, including a limi ed numbe o
dea hs due o PCa, we sough o u he e alua e his panel
o 22 SNPs in ela ion o PCSM in addi ional independen
pa ien coho s, and in a me a-analysis yielding g ea e
s a is ical powe om combining hese new da ase s wi h
p e iously s udied coho s.
Pa ien s and me hods
S udy popula ions—new PCa coho s
Melbou ne PCa coho s
The Melbou ne coho s we e om he P os a e Cance
Resea ch P og amme o he Cance Council Vic o ia. The
Melbou ne Collabo a i e Coho S udy (MCCS) is a p o-
spec i e coho s udy o 41,514 pa icipan s, which has been
desc ibed elsewhe e [9]. The MCCS is ma ched o cance
egis ies in all Aus alian s a es and na ional dea h indices
o asce ain cance diagnoses and dea hs. Fo his s udy,
DNA samples we e a ailable o 1100 PCa cases, including
147 who died o PCa. The Ea ly-Onse P os a e Cance
Family S udy (EOPCFS) is a popula ion-based amily se ies
o 1428 men diagnosed wi h PCa and has been desc ibed
elsewhe e [10]. Cases we e asce ained using he
popula ion-based Vic o ian Cance Regis y (VCR) and
1531 un ela ed cases wi h a DNA sample we e a ailable o
his s udy, including 91 confi med PCa dea hs. Clinical da a
we e ob ained om he VCR and we e limi ed o diagnosis
age and Gleason sco e.
Finnish PCa coho
The Finnish coho consis s o PCa cases om he edi a y
PCa amilies and om a case-con ol s udy popula ion,
desc ibed elsewhe e in de ail [11,12]. All 2629 cases we e
o Finnish he i age. PCa diagnoses we e confi med using
medical eco ds and su i al da a we e ob ained h ough
annual upda es om he Finnish Cance Regis y. Fo PCa
dea hs (n=281) iden ified ia annual linkage o he Cance
Regis y, unde lying cause was confi med using medical
eco ds.
Uni ed Kingdom (UK) PCa coho
The UK coho comp ises men diagnosed wi h PCa and
ec ui ed o he UK Gene ic P os a e Cance S udy
(UKGPCS), which has been desc ibed elsewhe e [13]. O
he 1560 cases a ailable o his s udy, diagnoses and
clinical-pa hological da a we e confi med using medical
eco ds. Vi al s a us and cause o dea h we e ob ained om
he Na ional Heal h Se ice In o ma ion Cen e and Cen al
Regis e , wi h a o al o 221 PCa-specific dea hs.
S udy popula ions—p e iously analysed PCa
coho s
Sea le amily-based PCa coho
The PROGRESS [14] includes cases om high- isk he -
edi a y PCa amilies. Asce ainmen , eligibili y c i e ia and
da a collec ion o his s udy ha e been desc ibed p e-
iously [14,15]. Medical eco ds we e ob ained o 961
PCa cases and we e used o ex ac clinical da a on Gleason
sco e, s age o disease, and se um PSA le el a diagnosis.
Dea h ce ifica es confi med unde lying cause (PCSM o
o he ), da e and age a dea h. Fo his coho , 957 cases o
Eu opean ances y had DNA a ailable o geno yping,
including 98 men who died o PCa [8].
Swedish PCa coho
The Swedish popula ion-based PCa coho comp ises cases
en oled in Cance o he P os a e in Sweden, which has
been desc ibed elsewhe e [6,16]. Fo he cu en s udy,
2875 cases o Eu opean descen had DNA a ailable o
geno yping and 501 had PCa confi med as he unde lying
cause o dea h [17]. Clinical da a we e ob ained om he
Swedish cance egis y.
PHS PCa coho
The PHS began as a andomised, double-blind placebo-
con olled ial o aspi in, and β-ca o ene o he p e en ion
o ca dio ascula disease and cance and has been desc ibed
in de ail elsewhe e [18]. The 1430 PCa cases in his s udy
we e p e iously chosen o a nes ed case-con ol s udy [19]
and a e es ic ed o sel - epo ed Caucasians. Fo hese
analyses, 194 PCa dea hs and 11 men wi h bone me as ases
we e included [7]. Clinical da a we e abs ac ed om
medical eco ds.
All s udies we e app o ed by hei local Ins i u ional
Re iew Boa d o Human Resea ch E hics Commi ee.
W i en in o med consen was ob ained om all s udy
pa icipan s.
Inhe i ed p edisposi ion o agg essi e p os a e cance 229
Geno yping
Twen y- wo candida e SNPs [6] we e geno yped o his
alida ion s udy. The MassARRAY iPLEX sys em
(Sequenom, Inc.) was used o geno ype he Swedish and
Finnish samples, and 20 o he 22 SNPs in he PROGRESS
samples. The emaining wo SNPs (PROGRESS) and all 22
SNPs we e geno yped in he Aus alian coho s using
TaqMan assays (Applied Biosys ems). The PHS samples
we e geno yped using BioT o e OpenA ay Technology
(Applied Biosys ems) and he UK samples we e geno yped
on he Infinium OncoA ay 500K BeadChip (Illumina,
Inc.). Two SNPs ailed geno yping in he Swedish coho ,
s228697 and s1029153. In he UK coho , nine o he 22
SNPs we e eplaced wi h a su oga e SNP ha was in s ong
linkage disequilib ium (LD; 2≥0.85) wi h he o iginal
SNP (Supplemen a y Table 1).
Blind duplica e samples we e dis ibu ed e enly ac oss
all geno yping ba ches om each s udy coho . Con-
co dance o he 22 SNP geno ypes was 100% o he 53
Finnish duplica es, 99% o he 24 EOPCFS duplica es,
97% o he 21 MCCS duplica es and >93% o he 16 UK
duplica es. Samples wi h ≥5 ailed SNPs we e emo ed
om u he analyses (n=49 Finnish, n=110 EOPCFS,
and n=384 MCCS cases). One Finnish case was emo ed
due o missing ollow-up da a. Quali y con ol (QC) esul s
o he Swedish, PROGRESS and PHS s udies ha e been
epo ed p e iously [6–8]. A e QC measu es, 12,082 PCa
cases, including 1544 confi med PCa dea hs, we e a ailable
o analysis.
The mino allele equencies (MAF) o he 22 SNPs in
men who did no die o PCa om each pa ien coho a e
shown in Supplemen a y Table 2. Fo mos SNPs, he MAF
is ai ly simila ac oss he coho s wi h he excep ion o he
Finnish coho . Se e al SNPs in he Finnish coho ha e a
MAF a leas 10% highe han wha was ound in he o he
coho s, e.g., s1137100, s627839, s4583514, and
s2070874. The dis ibu ion o MAF o he h ee SNPs
associa ed wi h PCSM o each g oup o pa ien s (ali e,
o he cause o dea h, and PCa-specific dea h) o each
coho is shown in Supplemen a y Table 3, excluding he
PHS (only summa y geno yping da a we e a ailable) and
Swedish (missing o he cause dea h in o ma ion) coho s.
S a is ical analyses
Haza d a ios (HR), 95% confidence in e als (95% CI) and
p- alues o each SNP in ela ion o PCSM we e calcula ed
using Cox p opo ional haza ds eg ession models o each
o he se en independen coho s. Men we e ollowed om
da e o diagnosis o da e o : (1) PCa-specific dea h; (2)
dea h om ano he cause; o (3) las ollow-up. Those who
died o o he causes and su i o s we e ea ed as censo ed
obse a ions. The mino allele o each SNP in he Sea le-
based PCa disco e y coho was conside ed he “a isk”
allele. Fo each SNP, wo Cox models we e es ed. In he
fi s model, bo h he gene ic model (addi i e, dominan , o
ecessi e) and clinicopa hological co a ia es (age a diag-
nosis, Gleason sco e, s age, diagnos ic PSA, and p ima y
ea men ) ha we e ound o be significan in he o iginal
Sea le coho we e fixed [6]. In he second model, he
gene ic model emained fixed based on he o iginal Sea le
coho , bu he clinicopa hological co a ia es we e allowed
o a y acco ding o he bes -fi ing model o each coho .
Missing indica o a iables we e included i clin-
icopa hological co a ia es had some (bu no all) missing
da a. Fo bo h Aus alian coho s, only wo co a ia es (age
a diagnosis and Gleason sco e) we e conside ed in hese
models due o missing da a.
We hen pe o med me a-analyses o agg ega e e idence
ac oss hese s udies using he R package, Me a o [20]. Da a
om he o iginal Sea le-based disco e y coho we e no
included in he me a-analyses. We fi ed an in e cep -only
linea model o each SNP, wi h log HRs es ima ed om he
se en coho s as he ou comes, and weigh ed by he in e se
o hei co esponding s anda d e o squa es. The fi s
me a-analysis was un based on he coe ficien s es ima ed
wi h he combina ion o co a ia es ha we e significan in
he o iginal Sea le coho (fi s model) and he second was
based on he bes fi ing co a ia es o each coho (second
model). As we we e es ing an a p io i defined hypo hesis
o each SNP, an associa ion was conside ed s a is ically
significan i he nominal p- alue was <0.05 (one-sided
es ). A one- ailed es was used because o alida ion we
equi ed ha he e ec o he isk allele on PCSM be in he
same di ec ion as in he o iginal Sea le da ase [6].
Due o he di e en MAFs in he Finnish coho and
missing clinicopa hological co a ia es in he Aus alian
da ase s, sensi i i y analyses we e pe o med whe e he
Finnish o bo h he Finnish and Aus alian da ase s we e
excluded. In o he sensi i i y analyses, men diagnosed wi h
dis an o unknown s age PCa we e excluded due o
unce ain y in defining he p ocess o me as a ic p og ession
o le hali y in such pa ien s, and o e alua e SNP associa-
ions in men diagnosed wi h less ad anced disease.
Resul s
The cha ac e is ics o he se en geno yped PCa coho s a e
p esen ed in Table 1. O e all, he e we e 12,082 cases wi h
geno yping da a om ac oss he s udies, o which 1544
(12.8%) had died o PCa.
As di e en coho s may ha e di e en unde lying
gene ic suscep ibili ies and dis ibu ions o clin-
icopa hological ea u es, each coho was fi s e alua ed
230 L. M. Fi zGe ald e al.
independen ly o associa ions be ween he 22 SNP geno-
ypes and isk o PCSM. Fi een SNPs we e significan ly
associa ed wi h PCSM in a leas one o he se en coho s,
and he isk alleles o ou SNPs, s1137100 (LEPR),
s2070874 (IL4), s2494750 (AKT1), and s5993891
(ARVCF), we e associa ed wi h PCSM in wo o he coho s
(Supplemen a y Table 4).
Me a-analysis o he se en coho s confi med ha wo
SNPs we e associa ed wi h PCSM (Table 2). The In e -
leukin 4 (IL4) SNP, s2070874, was associa ed wi h PCSM
unde he same gene ic model adjus ed o he same co -
a ia es as in he o iginal Sea le disco e y coho (dominan ;
adjus ed o age a diagnosis; p=1.1 ×10−2), and also
when clinicopa hological co a ia es we e included in he
Table 1 Cha ac e is ics o he se en independen p os a e cance coho s
Swedish PROGRESS PHS Aus alia (EOPCFS) Aus alia (MCCS) Finnish UK
Sample size 2875 957 1430 1531 1100 2629 1560
Age a diagnosis (yea s)
Mean 65.8 64.5 70.5 52.9 67.9 68.6 61.7
Range 44.6–80.4 40.0–87.0 45.5–100.9 38.0–87.0 47.0–86.0 37.0–95.0 36.9–88.9
Follow-up ime (yea s)
Mean 6.0 12.73 11.0 8.1 8.5 9.1 3.8
Range 0.3–8.6 0.3–32.6 0.01–27.9 0.9–18.2 0.01–24.5 0.1–31.9 0.01–11.1
Age a dea h (yea s)
Mean 71.2 80.5 84.2 61.0 76.4 77.7 67.7
Range 48.5–85.7 54.0–99.0 60.9–104.3 42.9–89.9 53.1–91.7 44.2–105.6 41.7–94.2
PCa-specific mo ali y
Noa2374 (82.6) 782 (81.7) 1225 (85.7) 1439 (94.2) 953 (86.6) 2196 (83.5) 1335 (85.6)
Yes 501 (17.4) 98 (10.2) 205 (14.3) 91 (5.8) 147 (13.4) 281 (10.7) 221 (14.2)
Unknownb0 (0) 77 (8.0) 0 (0) 1 (0.1) 0 (0.0) 152 (5.8) 4 (0.3)
S age
Local 1885 (65.6) 623 (65.1) 1293 (90.4) NA NA 1910 (72.7) 967 (62.0)
Regional 651 (22.6) 240 (25.1) 54 (3.8) NA NA 467 (17.8) 324 (20.8)
Dis an 266 (9.3) 27 (2.8) 54 (3.8) NA NA 203 (7.7) 105 (6.7)
Missing 73 (2.5) 67 (7.0) 29 (2.0) NA NA 49 (1.9) 164 (10.5)
Gleason sco e
≤6 1375 (47.8) 561 (58.6) 662 (46.3) 744 (48.6) 527 (47.9) 1187 (45.2) 627 (40.2)
7 782 (27.2) 204 (21.3) 424 (29.7) 617 (40.3) 285 (25.9) 753 (28.6) 523 (33.5)
8–10 467 (16.2) 80 (8.4) 192 (13.4) 116 (7.6) 146 (13.3) 410 (15.6) 289 (18.5)
Missing 251 (8.7) 112 (11.7) 152 (10.6) 54 (3.5) 142 (12.9) 279 (10.6) 121 (7.8)
Diagnos ic PSA le el (ng/mL)
<4 148 (5.1) 77 (8.0) 116 (8.1) NA NA 217 (8.3) 272 (17.4)
4–9.9 993 (34.5) 360 (37.6) 558 (39.0) NA NA 1114 (42.4) 641 (41.1)
10–19.9 651 (22.6) 157 (16.4) 206 (14.4) NA NA 654 (24.9) 285 (18.3)
≥20 1003 (34.9) 130 (13.6) 136 (9.5) NA NA 574 (21.8) 293 (18.8)
Missing 80 (2.8) 233 (24.3) 414 (28.9) NA NA 70 (2.7) 69 (4.4)
P ima y he apy
Radical p os a ec omy 713 (24.8) 501 (52.4) 579 (40.5) NA NA 823 (31.3) 415 (26.6)
Radia ion he apy 682 (23.7) 256 (26.8) 383 (26.8) NA NA 624 (23.7) 707 (45.3)
And ogen dep i a ion 927 (32.2) 21 (2.2) 119 (8.3) NA NA 149 (5.7) 208 (13.3)
Ac i e su eillance 488 (17.0) 51 (5.3) 91 (6.4) NA NA 970 (36.9) 183 (11.7)
O he 22 (0.8) 42 (4.4) 21 (1.5) NA NA 15 (0.6) 47 (3.0)
Missing 43 (1.5) 86 (9.0) 237 (16.6) NA NA 48 (1.8) 0
NA no a ailable
aDied o o he causes
bDied bu unknown cause o dea h
Inhe i ed p edisposi ion o agg essi e p os a e cance 231
model and bes -fi ed o each coho (p=1.1 ×10−3). The
O6-me hylguanine-DNA me hyl ans e ase (MGMT) SNP,
s2308327, was also associa ed wi h PCSM when analysed
using he same gene ic model as de e mined using he o i-
ginal Sea le-based coho , bu only when clin-
icopa hological co a ia es we e included in he model
(addi i e; p=3.5 ×10−2). Th ee o he SNPs, s228697
(PER3), s12467911 (SRD5A2), and s4645959 (c-MYC)
we e associa ed wi h PCSM in he me a-analysis, bu he
di ec ion o associa ion was opposi e o ha obse ed in he
o iginal Sea le disco e y coho , so hese a ian s we e no
conside ed alida ed (Table 2).
A sensi i i y analysis was pe o med o e alua e he
SNP–PCSM associa ions when pa ien s p esen ing wi h
dis an o unknown s age we e excluded. The esul s o he
IL4 and MGMT SNPs we e obus o his sensi i i y ana-
lysis. In addi ion, when limi ing he analysis o men diag-
nosed wi h local o egional s age he e was confi ma o y
e idence ha he SNP ( s2494750) in AKT1 was associa ed
wi h PCSM unde he same gene ic model adjus ed o he
same co a ia es as in he o iginal Sea le disco e y coho
(addi i e; adjus ed o clinicopa hological co a ia es; HR =
0.81, 95% CI 0.67–0.98, p=3.6 ×10–2), and also when
clinicopa hological co a ia es we e included in he model
and bes -fi ed o each coho (HR =0.83, 95% CI
0.70–0.98, p=3.1 ×10−2).
O he sensi i i y analyses excluded he Finnish and/o
Aus alian da ase s. When he Finnish coho was excluded
he associa ion be ween PCSM and s2070874 (IL4) geno-
ype emained significan whe eas he associa ion wi h
Table 2 Me a-analysis esul s o 22 SNPs geno yped in se en p os a e cance coho s
SNP Gene Risk allele
equencya
Disco e y coho gene ic
modelb& adjus men
co a ia esc
Haza d
a iod
95% CIep- alue Haza d
a iog
95% CIep- alue
s1137100 LEPR G: 0.27 Dom–ACP 1.01 0.91–1.12 NR 0.98 0.88–1.08 0.35
s228697hPER3 G: 0.11 Dom–ACP 1.33 1.14–1.55 NR 1.24 1.07–1.44 NR
s635261 RNASEL C: 0.36 Rec–ACP 0.96 0.82–1.11 0.31 0.92 0.80–1.06 0.18
s627839 RNASEL T: 0.47 Dom–ACP 1.05 0.94–1.18 0.24 1.07 0.96–1.19 0.17
s4583514 MSH2 A: 0.38 Dom–ACP 1.03 0.92–1.14 0.35 1.04 0.94–1.15 0.28
s4608577 MSH2 G: 0.17 Add–A 1.02 0.94–1.11 0.34 1.03 0.95–1.13 0.27
s523349 SRD5A2 G: 0.29 Dom–A 1.08 0.99–1.19 NR 1.07 0.97–1.19 NR
s12467911 SRD5A2 T: 0.28 Dom–A 1.10 1.00–1.20 NR 1.09 0.99–1.21 NR
s11710277 SEMA3F G: 0.09 Dom–ACP 1.03 0.89–1.20 0.35 0.95 0.83–1.09 NR
s11205 HSD17B4 G: 0.39 Rec–ACP 1.06 0.92–1.21 NR 1.06 0.93–1.21 NR
s2070874 IL4 T: 0.16 Dom–A 1.14 1.04–1.26 0.01 1.22 1.10–1.35 1.1 ×10–3
s1799964 TNF C: 0.21 Dom–A 1.07 0.98–1.18 NR 1.06 0.96–1.17 NR
s4645959 C-MYC G: 0.04 Add–ACP 1.11 0.92–1.35 NR 1.24 1.03–1.50 NR
s1029153hCXCL12 C: 0.31 Add–A 1.04 0.95–1.14 NR 1.04 0.95–1.14 NR
s2839685 CXCL12 T: 0.15 Rec–ACP 0.71 0.45–1.14 NR 0.66 0.41–1.05 NR
s2308327 MGMT G: 0.13 Add–A0.93 0.84–1.02 0.11 0.90 0.81–0.99 0.03
s10778534 CRY1 C: 0.36 Dom–A 1.03 0.94–1.13 0.28 1.03 0.93–1.13 0.32
s2494750 AKT1 G: 0.07 Add–ACP 0.92 0.79–1.08 0.21 0.92 0.79–1.06 0.16
s1799814 CYP1A1 A: 0.05 Add–ACP 1.09 0.90–1.32 NR 1.05 0.88–1.27 NR
s25487 XRCC1 A: 0.36 Add–A 0.95 0.89–1.02 0.11 0.94 0.88–1.01 0.09
s915927 XRCC1 G: 0.43 Dom–A 1.03 0.94–1.14 0.30 0.98 0.89–1.10 NR
s5993891 ARVCF T: 0.05 Dom–ACP 0.92 0.76–1.12 0.25 0.89 0.75–1.06 0.14
aBased on he Sea le p os a e cance disco e y coho
bDom dominan model; Rec ecessi e model; Add addi i e model
cAdjus ed o age a diagnosis (A) o age +clinicopa hological (ACP) ac o s (Gleason sco e, s age, PSA, p ima y ea men )
dBo h he gene ic model and adjus men co a ia es we e fixed based on he Sea le disco e y coho
eOne-sided 95% confidence in e als
NR no eplica ed (HR is in he opposi e di ec ion o he HR in he disco e y coho )
gThe gene ic model was fixed based on he Sea le disco e y coho , bu he adjus men co a ia es a y ac oss he se en coho s
hThese SNPs we e no geno yped in he Swedish coho
SNPs wi h s a is ically significan e idence o alida ion in he o e all me a-analysis a e shown in bold ace.
232 L. M. Fi zGe ald e al.

s2308327 (MGMT) was a enua ed (Supplemen a y
Table 5). When bo h Aus alian coho s we e excluded om
he analyses, esul s o he IL4 and MGMT SNPs we e
simila o hose shown in Table 2. The ATK1 SNP was also
associa ed wi h PCSM (HR =0.83; 95% CI 0.70–0.98; p=
0.04) unde an addi i e gene ic model, allowing clin-
icopa hological co a ia es o a y by coho o ob ain he
bes -fi ing model. Las ly, esul s o IL4 and MGMT a -
ian s (Table 2) we e simila a e excluding he Finnish and
bo h Aus alian coho s.
Discussion
Twen y- wo PCSM-associa ed a ian s we e p e iously
iden ified in a Sea le-based disco e y coho , ye sub-
sequen indi idual eplica ion s udies ha e only confi med
subse s o hese a ian s. In his la ge me a-analysis o
12,082 PCa pa ien s om se en coho s, we confi m asso-
cia ions be ween wo SNPs, s2070874 (IL4) and s2308327
(MGMT), and isk o PCSM. In addi ion, he me a-analysis
highligh ed an associa ion wi h an AKT1 SNP in he subse
o men diagnosed wi h less ad anced PCa (i.e., local o
egional s age disease) o when bo h Aus alian da ase s
missing s age da a we e excluded. Findings om sensi i i y
analyses we e obus o he IL4 and MGMT SNPs, and
p o ide suppo i e e idence ha a ian s in h ee genes
(IL4,MGMT, and AKT1) may play a ole in media ing PCa
agg essi eness. P e ious s udies ha e shown ha MGMT
and AKT1 a ian s a e no associa ed wi h o e all PCa isk
[21–24] and while a nominal associa ion has been obse ed
be ween isk and he IL4 a ian , s2243228 [22], his
a ian is no linked o s2070874 ( 2=0.0127). Howe e ,
ano he IL4 a ian , s2243250, which is in comple e link-
age disequilib ium wi h s2070874, was ecen ly associa ed
wi h Gleason sco e 7–10 PCa in men andomised o he
finas e ide a m o he P os a e Cance P e en ion T ial [25].
A s udy in 2011 ound nominal e idence o sugges ha
AKT1 gene ic a ia ion had a possible ole in ela ion o isk
o mo e agg essi e PCa [22], bu he esul s we e no
confi med in la ge s udies (i.e., OncoA ay da a). Collec-
i ely, hese esul s ha e a numbe o impo an implica-
ions in ela ion o PCa ou comes. Fi s , hey suppo he
hypo hesis ha unde lying gene ic backg ound can influ-
ence an indi idual’s isk o PCSM. Second, a deepe
unde s anding o his gene ic p edisposi ion could e en-
ually lead o ea ly isk s a ifica ion and he disco e y o
he apeu ic a ge s o ea ing high- isk cases. In ac , IL4,
MGMT, and AKT1 ha e well documen ed oles in ca ci-
nogenesis and hey, o hei ecep o s, ha e been sugges ed
as he apeu ic a ge s o PCa.
In he immune sys em, IL4, a T helpe ype 2 (TH2)
cy okine, egula es he su i al, g ow h, and di e en ia ion
o B and T lymphocy es [26], mas cells [27], and endo-
helial cells [28] h ough ac i a ion o he Type I IL4
ecep o (IL4R). In umo igenesis, s udies o he e ec s o
IL4 a e conflic ing; ea ly wo k sugges ed he cy okine had
an i- umou e ec s [29,30], bu mo e ecen s udies ha e
demons a ed umo igenic e ec s, including he p omo ion
o cance cell su i al and p oli e a ion [31], g ea e
mig a ion and in asion [32], enhanced me abolism o
umou g ow h [33] and highe me as a ic umou bu den
[32]. In PCa, s udies ha e shown ha IL4 le els a e ele-
a ed in ho mone e ac o y disease [34], ha IL4 can
ac i a e he and ogen ecep o when and ogen is abla ed o
p esen a e y low le els [35], and ha o e exp ession o
IL4 enhances he g ow h o and ogen-sensi i e LNCaP cells
in and ogen-dep i ed condi ions [36]. In epi helial cance
cells, IL4 exe s i s e ec s h ough he Type II IL4R
( e iewed in [37]), which was ound o be o e exp essed in
PCa cell lines, p ima y cul u es es ablished om esh
p os a e umou s and p os a e umou specimens [38].
No ably, se e al he apies ha e been designed o a ge he
IL4/IL4R signalling axis h ough i s ole in as hma and
alle gy ( e iewed in [37]). While he apies specific o he
Type II IL4R a e s ill in he disco e y phase, a Pseudo-
monas endo oxin-based IL4 chime ic p o ein, IL4-CTx,
which a ge s bo h IL4 ecep o s, has been shown o cause
emission o xenog a umou s de eloped om wo PCa
cell lines, DU145 and LNCaP [38]. This is pa icula ly
ele an o ou finding ha he s2070874 a ian o IL4 is
associa ed wi h a g ea e isk o PCSM, and i is possible
ha cases ca ying his a ian could benefi om adju an
ea men wi h eme ging Type II IL4R he apies.
The MGMT p o ein is esponsible o epai o DNA
adduc s gene a ed by alkyla ing agen s. Alkyla ion o DNA
in ol es he addi ion o an alkyl g oup o he O6-posi ion o
guanine, which induces mu a ion and malignan ans o -
ma ion due o me hylguanine: hymine mispai ing du ing
DNA eplica ion [39]. MGMT epai occu s h ough he
co alen ans e o he alkyl g oup o i s ac i e si e, which
esul s in a con o ma ional change, ubiqui ina ion and a
apid deg ada ion o he p o ein [40]. While MGMT has an
impo an ole in p e en ing ca cinogenesis h ough i s ole
in DNA epai , MGMT ac i i y in umou s ea ed wi h
chemo he apeu ic O6-alkyla ing agen s is ac ually de i-
men al, educing he sensi i i y o he cance cells o che-
mo he apy. MGMT p o ein le els ha e been shown o a y
widely bo h wi hin and be ween indi iduals [41], and he e
is e idence o sugges his is due o inhe i ed gene ic a -
ia ion [42], which also al e s MGMT ac i i y [43]. Ma gi-
son and colleagues [42] ha e shown ha he a ian alleles
o wo SNPs in pe ec linkage disequilib ium, s2308321
(I143V) and s2308327 (K178R), a e associa ed wi h a
highe le el o MGMT ac i i y and a e mo e esis an o
inac i a ing pseudosubs a es. This may be due o mo e
Inhe i ed p edisposi ion o agg essi e p os a e cance 233
e ficien epai o bulky adduc s as a esul o he s2308321
amino acid change, which is wi hin he MGMT-binding
pocke and in close p oximi y o he ac i e si e C145 [43].
He e, we obse ed ha he s2308327 a ian was asso-
cia ed wi h a educed isk o PCSM, sugges ing ha
inhe i ance o he mo e ac i e p o ein o m may p o ec
cases om de eloping a high equency o mu a ions in
genes c i ical o umo igenesis and ha push he umou
owa d an agg essi e pheno ype. Howe e , cases ca ying
he s2308327 a ian may also be mo e esis an o che-
mo he apeu ic O6-alkyla ing agen s and may benefi om
concu en ea men wi h an MGMT inac i a o , such as
lomegua ib [44].
AKT1 is a membe o he AKT amily o se ine/ h eonine
kinases, and wi hin he PI3K/AKT pa hway, plays a key
ole in cellula me abolism, g ow h, p oli e a ion, di e -
en ia ion, and su i al [45,46]. The PI3K/AKT pa hway
also has a cen al unc ion in epi helial o mesenchymal
ansi ion (EMT), a key p ocess in umou p og ession and
me as asis [47]. Fu he mo e, al e a ions in he PI3K/AKT
pa hway ha e been epo ed in bo h p ima y and me as a ic
p os a e umou s [48], including cons i u i e ac i a ion o
AKT1 ia loss o he inhibi o y phospha ase, PTEN [49–51],
and he de elopmen o doce axel esis ance has been linked
o his pa hway in PCa pa ien s [52]. The in ol emen o
AKT1 in cance de elopmen and p og ession has made i a
a ge o he apeu ic in e en ion [53–55] and se e al
Phase I and II ials, p edominan ly in b eas cance pa ien s,
a e cu en ly unde way es ing AKT1 o PI3K/AKT pa h-
way inhibi o s.
Ou s udy also illus a es how MAFs ha a y sub-
s an ially ac oss popula ions can impac es ima es o isk.
This is pa icula ly s iking in he Finnish popula ion whe e
he MAF o se e al gene a ian s (MSH2,HSD17B4,IL4,
and CXCL12) is qui e di e en o ha o he o he s udy
popula ions. As he IL4 s2070874 a ian is mo e common
in he Finnish PCa coho , i may also be mo e equen in he
o e all Finnish popula ion, hus explaining why his a ian
is mo e s ongly associa ed wi h PCSM when his coho is
emo ed om he me a-analysis, especially as he associa ion
may be d i en by Swedish and Aus alian coho s (Supple-
men a y Tables 4 and 5). Whe eas he MAF o he MGMT
a ian is simila ac oss he popula ions and i s associa ion
wi h PCSM is a enua ed when he Finnish coho is
emo ed; his may be due o a loss o powe as he asso-
cia ion be ween MGMT and PCSM appea s o be d i en by
all and no indi idual coho s. These findings demons a e he
impo ance o conside ing unde lying a ian equencies
when combining da a om di e en popula ions.
A limi a ion o ou s udy was he le el o missing clin-
icopa hological da a o some PCa pa ien coho s. Fo
example, we we e unable o s a i y Gleason sco e 7
pa ien s in o Gleason pa e n 3 +4 e sus 4 +3, es ic ing
ou abili y o e alua e associa ions o hese wo dis inc
umou g ades ha ha e di e en su i al ou comes. We
we e able o exclude men wi h missing da a on s age and
men wi h dis an s age disease, which demons a ed obus
findings o IL4,MGMT, and AKT1 a ian s in men diag-
nosed wi h localised o egional s age disease. I should also
be no ed ha he e was no cen al e iew o pa hology
slides o assign Gleason sco e, he e o e he e may ha e
been some umou g ade misclassifica ion ac oss cases in
hese coho s; bu i is unlikely ha such misclassifica ion
would di e subs an ially be ween coho s o ha i would
be influenced by geno ype. In addi ion, while all bu wo o
he PCa coho s had in o ma ion a ailable on p ima y
ea men , we did no ha e in o ma ion on seconda y
he apies ha may ha e been used o ea PCa p og ession
and could ha e a ied be ween popula ions. The e is cu -
en ly no e idence ha he IL4,MGMT,o AKT1 a ian
alleles al e esponse o he apy, and i seems unlikely ha
use o seconda y ea men (s) by pa ien s in hese PCa
coho s would a y subs an ially by geno ype. Ano he
limi a ion o ou s udy is ha all o he coho s we e com-
p ised o pa ien s o Eu opean ances y. Men o A ican
ances y ha e a highe PCa mo ali y a e compa ed o men
o Eu opean ances y [56,57], and u u e s udies o hese
gene ic a ian s in ela ion o PCSM a e impe a i e in ha
high- isk popula ion.
Unde s anding which gene ic pa hways a e in ol ed in
media ing PCa p og ession o a a al endpoin may lead o
he disco e y o no el p ognos ic bioma ke s and he -
apeu ic a ge s. While he IL4,MGMT, and AKT1 isk
alleles confi med in his s udy a e insu ficien as p ognos ic
bioma ke s on hei own, he iden ifica ion o u he bio-
ma ke s in he same o simila biological pa hways may
lead o he de elopmen o a bioma ke panel ha could
imp o e s a ifica ion o cases a diagnosis in o low- isk and
high- isk ca ego ies [58]. Such in o ma ion could be use ul
o decide on ini ial and adju an ea men s, clinical ial
en olmen , ea ly sal age he apy and mo e in ensi e su -
eillance in men a highe isk o PCSM. Fu he mo e, as
ou s udy sugges s a common gene ic suscep ibili y ac oss
se e al in e na ional PCa coho s, such a panel may be
ele an a a global le el.
Acknowledgemen s The au ho s g a e ully acknowledge ha hese
s udies we e made possible by he con ibu ion o many people,
including he o iginal in es iga o s and he diligen eams who
ec ui ed he pa icipan s and con inue o wo k on ollow-up. We also
exp ess ou g a i ude o he men who ook pa in hese s udies and
p o ided blood samples. This wo k was suppo ed by awa ds om he
Mo embe Founda ion ( o R.E. and J.L.S.) and g an s om he
Na ional Cance Ins i u e (P50 CA097186 and K05 CA175147 o J.L.
S.), wi h addi ional suppo om he F ed Hu chinson Cance
Resea ch Cen e . The PROGRESS s udy was suppo ed by g an R01
CA080122 om he Na ional Cance Ins i u e and an awa d om he
P os a e Cance Founda ion. The Finnish s udy was suppo ed by
234 L. M. Fi zGe ald e al.
g an s om he Finnish Cance O ganisa ions, Sig id Juselius Foun-
da ion, and he Academy o Finland (251074). The MCCS and
EOPCFS we e suppo ed by Cance Council Vic o ia and he MCCS
u he by he Aus alian Na ional Heal h and Medical Resea ch
Council p ojec g an s, 940394, 126402, 209057, and 1043616. E.A.
O. and D.M.K. acknowledge he In amu al P og amme o he
Na ional Human Genome Resea ch Ins i u e. The PHS was suppo ed
by Depa men o De ence g an s PC050569 and PC073618, Na ional
Cance Ins i u e g an s CA-42182, CA-34944, CA-40360, and CA-
097193, and Na ional Hea , Lung, and Blood Ins i u e g an s HL-
26490 and HL-34595. S.Z. was suppo ed in pa by he In amu al
Resea ch P og amme o he NIH, Na ional Ins i u e o En i onmen al
Heal h Sciences. K.L.P. was suppo ed by Na ional Resea ch Se ice
Awa ds T32 CA009001-32 and R25 CA098566. R.E. acknowledges
he suppo o he Na ional Ins i u e o Heal h Resea ch o he Bio-
medical Resea ch Cen e a The Ins i u e o Cance Resea ch and
Royal Ma sden Na ional Heal h Se ice Founda ion T us . The au ho s
hank he UK Gene ic P os a e Cance S udy Collabo a o s (Supple-
men a y No e; www.ic .ac.uk/ukgpcs). OncoA ay geno yping was
unded by he US Na ional Ins i u es o Heal h (U19 CA 148537:
ELLIPSE; ×01HG007492: Cen e o Inhe i ed Disease Resea ch,
con ac numbe HHSN268201200008I]. The PCa componen o he
OncoA ay (PRACTICAL conso ium; h p://p ac ical.ccge.medschl.
cam.ac.uk/) was suppo ed by Eu opean Commission’s Se en h F a-
mewo k P og amme g an ag eemen no. 223175 (HEALTH-F2-2009-
223175), Cance Resea ch UK G an s C5047/A7357, C1287/A10118,
C1287/A16563, C5047/A3354, C5047/A10692, C16913/A6135, and
he Na ional Ins i u e o Heal h Cance Pos -Cance GWAS ini ia i e
g an no. 1 U19 CA 148537-01 ( he GAME-ON ini ia i e).
Funding This wo k was suppo ed by awa ds om he Mo embe
Founda ion ( o R.E. and J.L.S.) and g an s om he Na ional Cance
Ins i u e (P50 CA097186 and K05 CA175147 o J.L.S.), wi h addi-
ional suppo om he F ed Hu chinson Cance Resea ch Cen e .
Compliance wi h e hical s anda ds
Conflic o in e es The au ho s decla e ha hey ha e no conflic o
in e es .
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