Purpose: Chronic inflammation has been considered a potential risk factor for prostate cancer. Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are important in the innate immune response to pathogens and in cross talk between innate immunity and adaptive immunity. In this study, sequence variants in the TLR4 gene were investigated to determine whether they were associated with prostate cancer risk in a Korean cohort.
Methods: An association study between 11 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the TLR4 gene and prostate cancer was performed in 463 Korean male subjects including 240 prostate cancer patients and 223 healthy controls. SNPs were genotyped using the TaqMan assay, and their association with the risk of prostate cancer was evaluated using logistic regression analysis.
Results: The statistical analysis revealed that one SNP at the 3'UTR (rs11536889) showed significant association with the risk of prostate cancer (P (corr) = 0.005, OR = 1.81). One common haplotype (ht2) was also significantly associated with the risk of prostate cancer (P (corr) = 0.009, OR = 1.77). However, further analysis showed no association between any of the SNPs and prostate cancer prognostic factors such as the Gleason score or tumor stage.
Conclusions: The findings of this study suggest that polymorphisms of the TLR4 gene might be associated with the risk of prostate cancer in Korean men.