Analysis of the prostate cancer-susceptibility locus HPC20 in 172 familiesaffected by prostate cancer

A recent study of hereditary prostate cancer has provided evidence for a pr ostate cancer-susceptibility locus, HPC20, which maps to 20q13. To assess f urther the potential contribution of this locus to prostate cancer suscepti bility, we studied 172 unrelated families affected by prostate cancer, usin g 17 polymorphic markers across a 98.5-cM segment of chromosome 20 that con tains the candidate region. Parametric analysis, allowing for heterogeneity , resulted in an overall HLOD score of 0.09 (P = .39) at D20S171, under the assumption of linkage in 6% of families. Mode-of-inheritance-free analysis of the entire data set resulted in a maximal Z(lr) score of 0.76 (LOD 0.13 ; P = .22) at the same location. The strongest evidence for linkage was see n in the subset of 16 black families (LOD 0.86; Z(lr) = 1.99; P = .23) betw een markers D20S893 and D20S120, near the putative location of HPC20. Altho ugh some positive results were observed, our linkage study does not provide statistically significant support for the existence of a prostate cancer-s usceptibility locus HPC20 at 20q13.