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. 2022 May;81(5):458-462.
doi: 10.1016/j.eururo.2021.12.023. Epub 2022 Jan 12.

A Rare Germline HOXB13 Variant Contributes to Risk of Prostate Cancer in Men of African Ancestry

Burcu F Darst  1 Raymond Hughley  2 Aaron Pfennig  3 Ujani Hazra  3 Caoqi Fan  4 Peggy Wan  2 Xin Sheng  2 Lucy Xia  2 Caroline Andrews  5 Fei Chen  2 Sonja I Berndt  6 Zsofia Kote-Jarai  7 Koveela Govindasami  8 Jeannette T Bensen  9 Sue A Ingles  10 Benjamin A Rybicki  11 Barbara Nemesure  12 Esther M John  13 Jay H Fowke  14 Chad D Huff  15 Sara S Strom  15 William B Isaacs  16 Jong Y Park  17 Wei Zheng  18 Elaine A Ostrander  19 Patrick C Walsh  16 John Carpten  20 Thomas A Sellers  17 Kosj Yamoah  21 Adam B Murphy  22 Maureen Sanderson  23 Dana C Crawford  24 Susan M Gapstur  25 William S Bush  24 Melinda C Aldrich  26 Olivier Cussenot  27 Gyorgy Petrovics  28 Jennifer Cullen  29 Christine Neslund-Dudas  11 Rick A Kittles  30 Jianfeng Xu  31 Mariana C Stern  10 Anand P Chokkalingam  32 Luc Multigner  33 Marie-Elise Parent  34 Florence Menegaux  35 Geraldine Cancel-Tassin  27 Adam S Kibel  36 Eric A Klein  37 Phyllis J Goodman  38 Janet L Stanford  39 Bettina F Drake  40 Jennifer J Hu  41 Peter E Clark  42 Pascal Blanchet  43 Graham Casey  44 Anselm J M Hennis  45 Alexander Lubwama  46 Ian M Thompson Jr  47 Robin J Leach  48 Susan M Gundell  2 Loreall Pooler  2 James L Mohler  49 Elizabeth T H Fontham  50 Gary J Smith  51 Jack A Taylor  52 Laurent Brureau  43 William J Blot  18 Richard Biritwum  53 Evelyn Tay  53 Ann Truelove  54 Shelley Niwa  54 Yao Tettey  55 Rohit Varma  56 Roberta McKean-Cowdin  10 Mina Torres  56 Mohamed Jalloh  57 Serigne Magueye Gueye  57 Lamine Niang  57 Olufemi Ogunbiyi  58 Michael Oladimeji Idowu  59 Olufemi Popoola  58 Akindele O Adebiyi  58 Oseremen I Aisuodionoe-Shadrach  60 Maxwell Nwegbu  60 Ben Adusei  61 Sunny Mante  61 Afua Darkwa-Abrahams  53 Edward D Yeboah  55 James E Mensah  53 Andrew Anthony Adjei  53 Halimatou Diop  62 Michael B Cook  6 Stephen J Chanock  6 Stephen Watya  63 Rosalind A Eeles  8 Charleston W K Chiang  4 Joseph Lachance  3 Timothy R Rebbeck  5 David V Conti  10 Christopher A Haiman  64
Affiliations

A Rare Germline HOXB13 Variant Contributes to Risk of Prostate Cancer in Men of African Ancestry

Burcu F Darst et al. Eur Urol. 2022 May.

Abstract

A rare African ancestry-specific germline deletion variant in HOXB13 (X285K, rs77179853) was recently reported in Martinican men with early-onset prostate cancer. Given the role of HOXB13 germline variation in prostate cancer, we investigated the association between HOXB13 X285K and prostate cancer risk in a large sample of 22 361 African ancestry men, including 11 688 prostate cancer cases. The risk allele was present only in men of West African ancestry, with an allele frequency in men that ranged from 0.40% in Ghana and 0.31% in Nigeria to 0% in Uganda and South Africa, with a range of frequencies in men with admixed African ancestry from North America and Europe (0-0.26%). HOXB13 X285K was associated with 2.4-fold increased odds of prostate cancer (95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.5-3.9, p = 2 × 10-4), with greater risk observed for more aggressive and advanced disease (Gleason ≥8: odds ratio [OR] = 4.7, 95% CI = 2.3-9.5, p = 2 × 10-5; stage T3/T4: OR = 4.5, 95% CI = 2.0-10.0, p = 2 × 10-4; metastatic disease: OR = 5.1, 95% CI = 1.9-13.7, p = 0.001). We estimated that the allele arose in West Africa 1500-4600 yr ago. Further analysis is needed to understand how the HOXB13 X285K variant impacts the HOXB13 protein and function in the prostate. Understanding who carries this mutation may inform prostate cancer screening in men of West African ancestry. PATIENT SUMMARY: A rare African ancestry-specific germline deletion in HOXB13, found only in men of West African ancestry, was reported to be associated with an increased risk of overall and advanced prostate cancer. Understanding who carries this mutation may help inform screening for prostate cancer in men of West African ancestry.

Keywords: African ancestry; Allelic age; Genetics; HOXB13; Health disparities; Prostate cancer; Rare genetic variants.

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Figures

Fig. 1 –
Fig. 1 –
Distribution of HOXB13 rs77179853 by genetic ancestry comparing principal components 1 and 2 calculated in our sample of 22 361 men of African ancestry. Men carrying the rs77179853 delA risk allele are highlighted by black triangles.

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