Objective: Prohibitin is an important antiproliferative protein inhibiting cell proliferation by blocking the G1/S transition of the cell cycle. Recent findings indicate that the presence of at least one mutant allele within a certain prohibitin gene polymorphism causes inactivation of bioactive RNA resulting in the loss of its pro-apoptotic function and a subsequent risk for malignant growth. Based on these findings we studied whether the presence of this prohibitin polymorphism increases the risk and worsens the prognosis of ovarian cancer in Caucasian women.
Study design: A polymorphism within the 3' untranslated region (UTR) of the prohibitin gene was evaluated by pyrosequencing in 136 Caucasian patients with epithelial ovarian cancer and 129 healthy Caucasian controls.
Results: The wild-type C/C, heterozygous C/T, and the mutant T/T prohibitin genotype was found in 88 (64.7%), 46 (33.8%), and 2 (1.5%) patients with ovarian cancer and in 84 (65.1%), 39 (30.2%), and 6 (4.7%) healthy controls. Presence of at least one mutant allele of the prohibitin 3' UTR polymorphism was not associated with an increased risk of ovarian cancer as compared to healthy controls (P=0.9). No association was found between presence of the prohibitin 3' UTR polymorphism and the clinico-pathological parameters tumor stage, tumor grade, and patients' age at diagnosis. Presence of at least one mutant allele of the prohibitin 3' UTR polymorphism was not associated with disease-free and overall survival.
Conclusion: The prohibitin 3' UTR polymorphism was not associated with risk and prognosis of ovarian cancer in Caucasian women.