Background: Although several studies have confirmed the association of xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus (XMRV) and prostate cancer, this association is still controversial, as most studies did not detect XMRV in prostate tissue samples. Furthermore, some genetic and epidemiological studies have highlighted a role for RNase L polymorphisms, particularly R462Q, in the progression of prostate cancer.
Objectives: The focus of this study was on the association of XMRV and RNase L R462Q variants with the risk of prostate cancer in Iranian patients.
Patients and methods: In this case-control study, 40 and 80 individuals with sporadic prostate cancer and benign prostatic hyperplasia, respectively, were included. The presence of XMRV was evaluated by real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) of integrase and nested-PCR for the gag genes. The RNase L R462Q polymorphism analysis was carried out by PCR and sequencing.
Results: In a total of 40 sporadic prostate cancer and 80 benign prostatic hyperplasia cases, no XMRV was detected by real-time PCR and nested-PCR. RNase L R462Q polymorphism analysis reveals that although there was an increase in the risk of prostate cancer correlated with the Q/Q allele of RNase L at position 462, the frequencies of the RNase L R462Q alleles were not statistically significant between the prostate cancer and benign prostatic hyperplasia groups (OR = 2.75 (95% CI = 0.67 - 11.3), P = 0.29).
Conclusions: These results did not support the presence of XMRV in the samples with prostate cancer and showed that RNase L R462Q variants had relatively little or no impact on the risk of prostate cancer in Iranian population.
Keywords: Polymorphism; Prostate Cancer; RNase L; Xenotropic Murine Leukemia Virus-Related Virus.