Background and objective: Prostate cancer is one of the most commonly diagnosed malignancy affecting men in Latvia. The aim of this study was to evaluate the epidemiological features and molecular basis of hereditary prostate cancer in Latvia.
Material and methods: A total of 1217 newly diagnosed prostate cancer patients were recruited in our study. Data were analyzed according to clinical diagnostic criteria for hereditary prostate cancer. Molecular testing for the founder mutation 657del5 of the NBS1 gene was performed for the first 280 prostate cancer patients and 173 control cases, and for the founder mutations 300T/G, 4153delA, and 5382insC of the BRCA1 gene for 112 prostate cancer patients with a history of breast or ovarian cancer in their families.
Results: Of the 1217 families, 14 (1.2%; 95% CI, 0.7%-1.9%) matched clinical diagnostic criteria for definitive hereditary prostate cancer, and of the 1217 families, 196 (16.1%; 95% CI, 14.1%-18.3%) for suspected hereditary prostate cancer. The founder mutation of the NBS1 gene was detected in 1 (0.4%, 95% CI, 0.1%-2.0%) of the 280 cases in the prostate cancer group and in 1 (0.6%; 95% CI, 0.1%-3.2%) of the 173 cases in the control group. The mutation 5382insC of the BRCA1 gene was detected in 2 (1.8%; 95% CI, 0.5%-6.3%) of the 112 cases analyzed in the prostate cancer group. No other BRCA1 founder mutations were detected.
Conclusions: Our study did not reveal predisposition genes for hereditary prostate cancer as the founder mutations of the BRCA1 and NBS1 genes are rarely detected in Latvia, but showed the importance of evaluation risk individually as a positive family history of cancer was associated with the earlier onset of prostate cancer.