<i>NRG1</i> Genetic Variant Influences the Efficacy of Androgen-Deprivation Therapy in Men with Prostate Cancer

oleh: Shu-Pin Huang, Yei-Tsung Chen, Lih-Chyang Chen, Cheng-Hsueh Lee, Chao-Yuan Huang, Chia-Cheng Yu, Victor C. Lin, Te-Ling Lu, Bo-Ying Bao

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: MDPI AG 2021-05-01

Deskripsi

Neuregulins (NRGs) activate receptor tyrosine kinases of the ErbB family, and play essential roles in the proliferation, survival, and differentiation of normal and malignant tissue cells. We hypothesized that genetic variants of NRG signalling pathway genes may influence treatment outcomes in prostate cancer. To test this hypothesis, we performed a comprehensive analysis to evaluate the associations of 459 single-nucleotide polymorphisms in 19 NRG pathway genes with cancer-specific survival (CSS), overall survival (OS), and progression-free survival (PFS) in 630 patients with prostate cancer receiving androgen-deprivation therapy (ADT). After multivariate Cox regression and multiple testing correction, we found that <i>NRG1</i> rs144160282 C > T is significantly associated with worsening CSS, OS, and PFS during ADT. Further analysis showed that low expression of <i>NRG1</i> is closely related to prostate cancer, as indicated by a high Gleason score, an advanced stage, and a shorter PFS rate. Meta-analysis of 16 gene expression datasets of 1,081 prostate cancer samples and 294 adjacent normal samples indicate lower <i>NRG1</i> expression in the former compared with the latter (<i>p</i> < 0.001). These results suggest that <i>NRG1</i> rs144160282 might be a prognostic predictor of the efficacy of ADT. Further studies are required to confirm the significance of <i>NRG1</i> as a biomarker and therapeutic target for prostate cancer.