Vitamin D receptor gene variants and clinical outcomes after androgen-deprivation therapy for prostate cancer

Molecular epidemiology studies have shown that vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene polymorphisms are associated with prostate cancer risk. However, the prognostic value of these polymorphisms on clinical outcomes in prostate cancer patients receiving androgen-deprivation therapy (ADT) has not been determined. We evaluated the association of five common VDR polymorphisms, ApaI, Tru9I, BsmI, FokI, and Cdx2, with clinicopathologic characteristics and clinical outcomes, including disease progression, prostate cancer-specific mortality, and all-cause mortality, in a cohort of 601 prostate cancer patients treated with ADT. Of the five VDR polymorphisms, FokI rs2228570 and BsmI rs1544410 were associated with Gleason score at diagnosis (P = 0.043) and prostate-specific antigen nadir following ADT (P = 0.023), respectively. The haplotype analysis revealed that the A-A-G (ApaI-Tru9I-BsmI) compared with C-G-G individuals were more likely to have high Gleason score (P = 0.050). However, none of these polymorphisms were significantly associated with disease progression and mortality after ADT. This is the largest study to date investigating the association of VDR polymorphisms and clinical outcomes in prostate cancer patients receiving ADT. Polymorphisms in the VDR gene might be associated with Gleason score, but these polymorphisms had no main effect on predicting response to ADT.