Race differences in telomere length in benign prostate and subsequent risk of prostate cancer

Document Type

Conference Proceeding

Publication Date

7-1-2021

Publication Title

Cancer Res

Abstract

Telomere shortening is linked to aging and thought to be associated with increased risk for cancer. Most cancer studies have used leukocyte telomere length as a surrogate measure for telomere length with few focused upon telomeres in the target tissue of cancer origin. To determine whether telomere length in pre-malignant prostate tissue is associated with subsequent prostate cancer risk, we conducted a case-control study of 530 case-control pairs matched on date, age at cohort entry, and race nested within a historical cohort of 10,478 men with a benign prostate biopsy. Overall mean telomere length assessed using modified quantitative real-time PCR was not different in benign prostate biopsies of prostate cancer cases vs. matched controls (1.65 ± 0.35 vs. 1.64 ± 0.39; p=0.41). However, race was significantly associated with telomere length with African American (AA) men having shorter telomeres in benign prostate biopsy compared with white men (1.59 ± 0.37 vs. 1.70 ± 0.37; p<0.0001). In race-stratified analyses, telomere length only showed a suggestive association with prostate cancer risk in white men, wherein those with telomere length in the highest quartile had 1.5-fold greater risk of prostate cancer compared to men with prostate telomere lengths in the lowest quartile (OR=1.56; 95% CI = 0.89 - 2.73 ). In addition, white men in the highest prostate telomere length quartile had almost three-fold greater risk of aggressive prostate cancer, defined as Gleason group 3 and above, tumor stage 3 or above or PSA 20 ng/ml or higher, compared with men with telomere lengths in the lowest quartile (OR=2.73; 95% CI =1.05 - 7.15). In summary, white men have longer telomeres in benign prostate tissue compared with AA men, and those with the longest telomeres may be at increased risk for prostate cancer, particularly the more aggressive form of the disease.

PubMed ID

Not assigned.

Volume

81

Issue

13 SUPPL

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