Polymorphism of cytochrome P450 2B6 and prostate cancer risk: A significant association in a Japanese population

Objectives: To explore whether Lys262Arg polymorphism of the Cytochrome P450 2B6 (CYP2B6) gene could act as a genetic marker for prostate cancer risk among Japanese men. Methods: A total of 350 patients with sporadic prostate cancer and 328 controls were examined. A single nucleotide polymorphism with non‐synonymous amino acid change located at Lys262Arg of the CYP2B6 gene was genotyped using a TaqMan assay. Results: The frequency of the Arg/Arg genotype among prostate cancer patients was significantly higher than that among the controls (P = 0.027). The frequency of the G allele of the Lys262Arg polymorphism was also significantly higher in prostate cancer patients than in the controls (30.4% vs 24.8%, P = 0.025). Patients with the Lys/Arg plus Arg/Arg genotypes carried a low Gleason score more frequently than those with the Lys/Lys genotype (P = 0.042). The frequency of the G allele of the Lys262Arg polymorphism was significantly higher in the low Gleason score group than that in the high Gleason score group (34.3% vs 26.8%, P = 0.038). Conclusions: Lys262Arg polymorphism of the CYP2B6 gene may be a genetic marker for evaluating the risk of sporadic prostate cancer in native Japanese men.