Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Correspondence
  • Published:

Response to the Letter to the Editor: “Association between metformin medication, genetic variation and prostate cancer risk”—genotyping and patient categorization, do they matter?

Prostate Cancer and Prostatic Diseases volume 24, page 280 (2021)Cite this article

Subjects

We thank Drs. Raj and Krishnan for their interest in our study. They bring up two points which warrant further discussion [1, 2]. The first pertains to the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) included in the candidate gene portion of our analysis.

The authors suggest exploration of three additional genes implicated in metformin pharmacokinetics, including OCTN1, SLC19A3, and SLC6A4. When nominating candidate SNPs to the OncoArray project in 2012, we reviewed studies examining genetic interactions in metformin drug concentrations, side-effects, and/or efficacy (glycemic control and weight change). Though other SNPs had been identified since, we felt the most honest approach to the candidate gene portion of our study was to only analyze the SNPs we nominated to the OncoArray. With our GWAS analysis this would capture signal across the genome including other genes we were interested in.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

References

  1. Raj GM, Krishnan R Letter to the Editor: “Association between metformin medication, genetic variation and prostate cancer risk” – genotyping and patient categorization, do they matter?. Prostate Cancer Prostatic Dis. 2020. [Epub ahead of print].

  2. Lee MJ, Jayalath VH, Xu W, Lu L, Freedland SJ, Fleshner NE et al. Association between metformin medication, genetic variation and prostate cancer risk. Prostate Cancer Prostatic Dis. 2020. [Epub ahead of print].

  3. Thompson IM, Goodman PJ, Tangen CM, Lucia MS, Miller GJ, Ford LG, et al. The influence of finasteride on the development of prostate cancer. N Engl J Med. 2003;349:215–24.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Andriole GL, Bostwick DG, Brawley OW, Gomella LG, Marberger M, Montorsi F, et al. Effect of dutasteride on the risk of prostate cancer. N Engl J Med. 2010;362:1192–202.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Vidal AC, Howard LE, Moreira DM, Castro-Santamaria R, Andriole GL, Freedland SJ. Aspirin, NSAIDs, and risk of prostate cancer: results from the REDUCE study. Clin Cancer Res. 2015;21:756–62.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Urology, Department of Surgery, University of Toronto; Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, University Health Network, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Min Joon Lee & Robert J. Hamilton

Authors
  1. Min Joon Lee
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Robert J. Hamilton
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Robert J. Hamilton.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Lee, M.J., Hamilton, R.J. Response to the Letter to the Editor: “Association between metformin medication, genetic variation and prostate cancer risk”—genotyping and patient categorization, do they matter?. Prostate Cancer Prostatic Dis 24, 280 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41391-020-00287-z

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41391-020-00287-z

Search

Advanced search

Quick links