Androgen receptor CAG polymorphism and the risk of benign prostatic hyperplasia in a Brazilian population

benign prostatic hyperplasia (bph) is a very frequent age-related proliferative abnormality in men. polymorphic cag repeat in the androgen receptor (ar) can alter transactivation of androgen-responsive genes and potentially influence bph risk. we investigated the association between cag repeat length and risk of bph in a case-control study of a brazilian population. we evaluated 214 patients; 126 with bph and 88 healthy controls. dna was extracted from peripheral leucocytes and the ar gene was analyzed using fragment analysis. hazard ratio (hr) and 95% confidence interval were estimated using logistic regression models. mean cag length was not different between patients with bph and controls. the cag repeat length was examined as a categorical variable (cag < 21 vs. cag > 21 and cag < 22 vs. cag > 22) and did not differ between the control vs. the bph group. we found no evidence for an association between ar cag repeat length in bph risk in a population-based sample of brazilians.