Gene polymorphisms in the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway contribute to prostate cancer susceptibility in Chinese men

In this hospital-based case-control study of 413 prostate cancer (PCa) cases and 807 cancer-free controls, we investigated the role of functional single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of pivotal genes in the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway. We genotyped 17 SNPs in , , , , and and found that 4 were associated with PCa susceptibility. Among the variants, the homozygote variant CC genotype of rs17036508 C>T were associated with higher PCa risk than the wild TT genotypes (adjusted OR = 3.73 (95% CI = 1.75-7.94), = 0.001). The GT genotype of rs2295080 G>T was more protective than the TT genotypes (adjusted OR=0.54 (95% CI=0.32-0.91), 0.020). The distributions of rs1468033 A>G genotypes differed between cases and controls, especially in subgroups defined by age, BMI, smoking status, and ethnicity. The CT/CC genotypes of rs7250897 C>T were associated with an increased risk of PCa, particularly in subgroups of age >71 and BMI >24 kg/m . These findings suggest that SNPs in the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway may contribute to the risk of PCa in Chinese men.