Identification of Prostate Cancer Genes

July 31, 2018 updated by: National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI)

Genetic Analysis of Cases, Controls, and Families With Prostate Cancer

This study will identify genes that predispose men to prostate cancer and affect the rate and type of disease spread, the aggressiveness of the disease, and the long-term outcome. Several studies show there is a genetic component to prostate cancer susceptibility, and that a first-degree relative with prostate cancer increases a man's risk 2- to 3-fold compared to those without a family history. The risk is significantly higher if the relative was diagnosed at younger than 65 years of age, or if three or more first-degree relatives are affected.

The study will try to locate prostate cancer genes in DNA samples using two methods: linkage analysis and association studies. Traditionally, the search for a disease gene begins with linkage analysis, in which the aim is to find the rough location of the gene relative to another DNA sequence, called a "genetic marker," whose position is already known. In genetic association studies, genes from a large number of patients are compared with healthy controls who are matched by age, race, and geographic region.

DNA samples for this study come from patients in the two following studies at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, Washington:

Family study: Participants are families with prostate cancer who have: 1) three or more first-degree relatives with prostate cancer; 2) three generations with prostrate cancer either through the maternal or paternal side of the family; or 3) two first-degree relatives with prostate cancer diagnosed before age 65 or who were African American.

Population-based study: Participants are patients with prostate cancer and matched healthy control subjects.

The identification of prostate cancer genes important in susceptibility to the disease and its aggressiveness may permit earlier detection and development of more directed and effective treatments based on underlying genetics.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Detailed Description

The notion that there are prostate cancer susceptibility genes has since been suggested by case-control, cohort and twin studies. The effect is strongest among first-degree relatives, where the relative risk estimates range from 1.7 to 3.7. Families reporting younger ages at diagnosis and multiple relatives with prostate cancer were demonstrated even higher relative risks. For example, compared to men with no family history, men with three or more first-degree relatives with prostate cancer have almost an 11-fold increased risk. Although the majority of studies focused on Caucasians, similar elevations in risk associated with a family history of disease have been reported for Asian and African Americans. While the majority of the data seems to point towards autosomal dominant genes, evidence for an X-linked or recessive inheritance has also been reported.

During the last decade, others and we have been devoted to the search for hereditary prostate cancer (HPC) loci either by linkage or by association with candidate genes. A generally agreed upon definition of HPC families now exists. These are families in which there is either: 1) prostate cancer in three or more first-degree relatives; 2) prostate cancer in three successive generations; or 3) a cluster of two relatives diagnosed at less than or equal to 55 years.

Armed with these criteria, others and we have collected large data sets of likely hereditary families and undertaken genome wide scans. However, locus heterogeneity issues have made the task difficult. There are clearly many genes that contribute to prostate cancer susceptibility, and many are likely to be weakly penetrant. We have stratified the data derived from our genome scan by a number of likely factors such as age at diagnosis, number of affected men, founder effects aggressiveness of disease, and presence of other cancers in the family to develop more homogeneous datasets. We propose to continue those sorts of studies, as well as focus on cloning genes in regions we and others have identified to date. To test hypotheses that certain variants are associated with prostate cancer susceptibility or progression of disease, will also conduct association studies in a population-based, case control study of middle aged men with prostate cancer. This will allow us to test the putative association of candidate genes and SNPs in prostate cancer susceptibility, aggressivity, and long-term outcomes.

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Actual)

5118

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Maryland
      • Bethesda, Maryland, United States, 20892
        • National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), 9000 Rockville Pike

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years to 100 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

  • INCLUSION CRITERIA:

Study families were required to meet at least one of the following criteria:

Have three or more first-degree relatives with PC

Have three generations with PC, either through paternal or maternal lineage; or

Have two-first degree relatives with PC diagnosed before age 65 or who were African American. All surviving men, and selected unaffected men and females were invited to join.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI)

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Elaine A Ostrander, Ph.D., National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI)

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

November 8, 2004

Study Completion

July 30, 2018

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

June 19, 2006

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

June 19, 2006

First Posted (Estimate)

June 21, 2006

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

August 1, 2018

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 31, 2018

Last Verified

July 30, 2018

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 999905034
  • 05-HG-N034

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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