The relationship of age and serum prostate-specific antigen with FAS 1377 G/A in prostate cancer

Abstract

Introduction: Apoptosis or programmed cell death is triggered by Fas-Fas ligand (FasL) binding. Mutation in the active sites of these genes blocks death signal transmission and ultimately causes carcinogenesis. The present case–control study was conducted to compare the relationship of age and serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) with FAS-1377 G/A (rs2234767) polymorphism as one of the best-known polymorphisms of FAS in patients with prostate cancer and a group of controls. Materials and Methods: A total of 100 cases diagnosed with prostate cancer by a specialist and 100 healthy controls were selected from those presenting to the Urogenital Research Unit of Imam Khomeini Hospital in Tehran, Iran. The individual's blood samples were taken, and the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay method was then used to isolate their blood serum and measure its PSA levels. The saturated salt solution method was used to extract the leukocyte DNA, and the individual's genotype was determined using the Restriction fragment length polymorphism-polymerase chain reaction technique. The data collected were analyzed in IBM SPSS-23. Results: The genotype count found genotype AA in 42% of the cancer patients and 36% of the controls (P = 0.384, odds ratio [OR] = 1.28 confidence interval [CI] 95%: 0.728–2.274), genotype GG in 57% of the cancer patients and 64% of the controls (P = 0.311, OR = 0.746, CI 95%: 0.422–1.317), and genotype AG in a single patient (1%) (P = 0.316, OR: 0.990, CI 95%: 0.971–1.010). No significant relationships were observed between the two groups in terms of these genotypes. Age and serum PSA were found to have significant relationships with both the AA and GG genotypes. Discussion: Older age and elevated serum PSA levels were found to be significantly related to the mutant genotype AA in the cancer patients. Given the lack of significant relationships between the risk allele A and prostate cancer, conducting a study with a larger sample size in different Iranian ethnic groups seems necessary, as sample size can affect the results obtained on this polymorphism.