Apolipoprotein E genotype is not linked to locally recurrent hormone-refractory prostate cancer

Mechanisms of prostate cancer recurrence during androgen deprivation are po orly understood. Recently, the putative role of apolipoprotein E epsilon 4 allele in the aetiology of prostate cancer was raised. To investigate the h ypothesis that epsilon 4 allele of apolipoprotein E gene predisposes to pro state cancer and is involved in the relapse of hormonal therapy response, 3 8 hormone-refractory locally recurrent carcinoma samples from 38 prostate c ancer patients were screened for apolipoprotein E genotype. The frequency d istribution of apolipoprotein E genotypes among tumours did not differ sign ificantly from that among controls. The allele frequency of epsilon 4 was 1 9.7% and 19.3% in tumours and controls, respectively. The results suggest t hat clinical progression of prostate cancer during androgen withdrawal ther apy is not associated with apolipoprotein E genotype.