Serum urate, genetic variation, and prostate cancer risk: Atherosclerosis risk in Communities (ARIC) study

Background: Evidence is mounting that intraprostatic inflammation influences prostate cancer development. Uric acid crystals depositing in the prostate could result in injury and inflammation, increasing prostate cancer risk. Methods: Included were 6,574 men ages 45–64 years who enrolled in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities study in 1987 to 1989. We used Cox proportional hazards regression to estimate the association of serum urate concentration alone and to improve accuracy, jointly with a genetic risk score (GRS, N ¼ 4,983) derived from variants predictive of urate concentration, with prostate cancer (N ¼ 813) risk. Results: Serum urate concentration or joint categories of urate concentration and GRS were not associated with prostate cancer risk (P_trend for _quartiles ¼ 0.3). Results were generally similar by race and after excluding users of medications that influence uric acid. Conclusions: Serum urate alone and with a urate-associated GRS were not associated with prostate cancer risk. Impact: It is unlikely that circulating urate concentration influences prostate cancer development.