Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms Associated With Prostate Cancer Development in Saudi Males

Background: Genome-wide association studies have demonstrated that single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are important risk factors for the development of prostate cancer (PC). In this study, we investigated a group of SNPs in Saudi individuals and compared their frequency in patients and healthy normal controls. Methods: A total of 320 individuals were included in the study: 85 with PC, 120 with benign nodular hyperplasia, and 115 healthy normal controls. DNA was extracted from paraffin-embedded formalin-fixed tissue from PC and nodular hyperplasia patients and from whole blood of healthy controls. A total of thirteen SNPs were genotyped using the TaqMan® MGB PCR assay. Results: The rs16901979A, s629242T and rs1447295A alleles were found at significantly higher frequencies in PC patients than in controls (p < 0.05). The C/A genotype of the rs16901979 SNP was observed significantly more frequently in PC patients than in controls (43% vs 14%, OR = 0.2, p value = 0.0001) and more frequently in PC patients than in the benign hyperplasia group (43% vs 25%, OR = 2.3, p value = 0.03). Conclusion: Our study highlighted several SNP genotypes associated with PC development in Saudi males. These findings have important implications for diagnosing PC and screening unaffected family members of Saudi patients.