Angiotensin-converting enzyme insertion/deletion polymorphism and the risk of prostate cancer in the Han population of China.

As a main effector in the renin-angiotensin system, the angiotensin II plays a critical role in cell proliferation and angiogenesis. The change between angiotensin II and its precursor is conducted by the angiotensin-converting enzyme. The association between angiotensin-converting enzyme insertion/deletion polymorphism and the activity of angiotensin-converting enzyme was testified. Furthermore, previous researches proved the association between angiotensin-converting enzyme activity and the risk of prostate cancer. Therefore, we conducted a case-control study in the Han population of China to elaborate the relation between the angiotensin-converting enzyme insertion/deletion polymorphism and prostate cancer. DNA was extracted from blood samples collected from 189 pathologically diagnosed prostate cancer patients and 290 cancer-free subjects. The angiotensin-converting enzyme insertion/deletion genotype was determined by polymerase chain reaction analysis. Stratified analyses on age (<71 or ≥ 71), cancer stage (localized or advanced), Gleason score (<7 or ≥ 7) and PSA level (<20 ng/ml or ≥ 20 ng/ml) were performed. We found the II genotype (OR = 0.304 95%CI (0.180,0.515), P < 0.001) and I allele (OR = 0.547 95%CI(0.421,0.711), P < 0.001) were associated with a decreased risk of prostate cancer compared with the DD genotype and D allele. The DD genotype was related to patients with aggressive stage of prostate cancer (OR = 2.214 95%CI(1.169, 4.194), P = 0.014) and patients diagnosed of prostate cancer at a relatively early age (OR = 0.513 95%CI(0.272, 0.965), P = 0.037). The results of our experiment supported the hypothesis that the angiotensin-converting enzyme insertion/deletion polymorphism, a potential risk factor in carcinogenesis, played an important role in the Han population of China.