UDP-glucuronosyltransferase (UGT) belongs to family of enzymes glucuronidate carcinogens, C19 steroids, and xenobiotics. UGT2B17 is a member of the UGT family, and deletion polymorphism of the UGT2B17 gene (UGT2B17-deletion) is a much more common copy number variant (CNV) among Japanese than other populations. UGT2B17 metabolize androgen hormones. The UGT2B17-deletion may therefore decrease androgen elimination and thus may associate with the development of prostate cancer, since the growth of these cancerous cells is facilitated by androgens. However, it remains controversial whether UGT2B17-deletion is a genuine risk factor for prostate cancer [9] or not [10]. UGT2B17-deletion is associated with decreased glucuronidation of tobacco-specific carcinogens and may be associated with increased risk of lung adenocarcinoma in women, although the latter was not confirmed in a recent study.

Citation: Urashima M, Nakashima A, Hama T, Suzuki Y, Ohdaira H, et al. (2015) UGT2B17 Deletion Polymorphism is a Risk Factor for Upper Aero digestive-Tract Cancer in Japanese: A Case-Control Study. Epidemiology (sunnyvale) 5:196.

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