Genetic interaction of P2X7 receptor and VEGFR-2 polymorphisms identifies a favorable prognostic profile in prostate cancer patients

VEGFR-2 and P2X(7) receptor (P2X(7)R) have been described to stimulate the angiogenesis and inflammatory processes of prostate cancer. The present study has been performed to investigate the genetic interactions among VEGFR-2 and P2X(7)R SNPs and their correlation with overall survival (OS) in a population of metastatic prostate cancer patients. Analyses were performed on germline DNA obtained from blood samples and SNPs were investigated by real-time PCR technique. The survival dimensionality reduction (SDR) methodology was applied to investigate the genetic interaction between SNPs. One hundred patients were enrolled. The SDR software provided two genetic interaction profiles consisting of the combination between specific VEGFR-2 (rs2071559, rs11133360) and P2X(7)R (rs3751143, rs208294) genotypes. The median OS was 126 months (95% CI, 115.94-152.96) and 65.65 months (95% CI, 52.95-76.53) for the favorable and the unfavorable genetic profile, respectively (p < 0.0001). The genetic statistical interaction between VEGFR-2 (rs2071559, rs11133360) and P2X(7)R (rs3751143, rs208294) genotypes may identify a population of prostate cancer patients with a better prognosis.