1. ¹Department of Social Medicine, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
2. ²Department of Social Medicine, MRC Centre for Causal Analyses in Translational Epidemiology, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
3. ³Nuffield Department of Surgery, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, UK
4. ⁴Department of Oncology, Addenbrooke's Hospital, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK

Correspondence: Professor RM Martin, Department of Social Medicine, University of Bristol, Canynge Hall, Whatley Road, Bristol BS8 2PS, UK. E-mail: Richard.Martin@bristol.ac.uk

Received 1 April 2009; Revised 21 April 2009; Accepted 21 April 2009; Published online 2 June 2009.

Abstract

Prostaglandin endoperoxidase synthase 2 is a key regulator of inflammation and may play a role in prostate carcinogenesis. The polymorphism, –899G>C (rs20417), alters a transcription factor-binding site and is associated with a reduced risk of colorectal adenoma. We tested the hypothesis that rs20417 may influence prostate cancer risk, using a large case–control study (n_cases=1608, n_controls=3058). We found no evidence that rs20417 alters prostate cancer risk (odds ratio (OR_{CC & GC v GG}=1.05, 95% confidence interval (CI)=0.91–1.20). A meta-analysis of three studies also found little evidence that rs20417 alters risk (pooled OR_{CC & GC v GG}=1.04, 95% CI=0.93–1.17), making it unlikely that rs20417 contributes in any major way to prostate cancer aetiology.