Androgen receptor CAG and GGN repeat length variation contributes more to the tumorigenesis of osteosarcoma

// Yongxiang Shi 1 , Weishan Chen 1 , Qinghuai Li 2 , Zhaoming Ye 1 1 Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, 2nd Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China 2 Department of Medicine, 3rd Hospital of Henan Province, Henan, China Correspondence to: Zhaoming Ye, email: ye_zhaoming@163.com Keywords: osteosarcoma, papillary thyroid cancer, AR, repeat, CAG Received: May 24, 2016 Accepted: August 13, 2016 Published: September 08, 2016 ABSTRACT The androgen receptor ( AR ) is involved in the differentiation and growth of many cancers. We hypothesized that two microsatellite polymorphic variants, AR (CAG)n and (GGN)n repeats, were also associated with the development of Papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) and Osteosarcoma. In current study, we conducted two case-control studies in a Chinese population to investigate the possible relationship between these two AR repeat polymorphisms and the risk of PTC and Osteosarcoma. The AR CAG repeat length was significantly associated with both risk of PTC and Osteosarcoma. Subjects with shorter AR CAG repeats had a higher risk of developing PTC (OR = 1.47, 95% CI: 1.17–1.85, P = 0.001) and Osteosarcoma (OR = 1.53, 95% CI: 1.19–1.97, P = 9.2 x 10 –4 ). Specifically, shorter GGN repeats also contribute a significant increased risk of Osteosarcoma (OR = 1.35, 95% CI: 1.03–1.77, P = 0.030). Our results contribute to a better understanding of the complex hormone related mechanisms underlying PTC and Osteosarcoma.