KLF6 IVS1 -27G>A Variant and the Risk of Prostate Cancer in Finland

Objectives: A recent report demonstrated that KLF6 IVS1 -27G>A substitution increases the transcription of alternatively spliced isoforms; this action was suggested to be associated with prostate cancer (pCA). To evaluate these findings among the Finnish population, a total of 3348 samples were analysed. Methods: The variant was genotyped in 164 patients with familial pCA, 852 patients with unselected pCA, 459 patients with benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH), 923 male population controls, and 950 men from a Finnish prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening trial with PSA levels less than 1.0 ng/ml. Odds ratios (ORs) and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (95%CIs) were calculated by using logistic regression to estimate pCA risk. Results: Association testing revealed no significant differences between familial prostate cancer patients and population controls (OR: 0.84; 95%CI, 0.56-1.28; p = 0.42), unselected cases and controls (OR: 0.95; 95%CI, 0.76-1.19; p = 0.63), or BPH cases and controls (OR: 1.12; 95%CI, 0.86-1.46; p = 0.39). pCA and BPH cases were also compared with PSA-screened controls. None of these analyses revealed any significant associations. Conclusions: Our results do not support the suggested association of KLF6 IVS1 -27G>A germline polymorphism with pCA risk and also suggest that the variant is not a risk allele for BPH in the Finnish population.