Background Fatigue is a common and distressing side effect of androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) for prostate cancer. The goal of the current study was to examine the relationship between changes in fatigue following initiation of ADT and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in three pro-inflammatory cytokine genes: interleukin-1 beta (IL1B), interleukin-6 (IL6), and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFA). Methods As part of a larger study, men with prostate cancer (n=53) were recruited prior to initiation of ADT. Fatigue was assessed at recruitment and six months after initiation of ADT. DNA was extracted from blood drawn at baseline. Results Patients with the IL6-174 (rs1800795) G/C or C/C genotype displayed greater increases in fatigue intrusiveness, frequency, and duration than the G/G genotype (p values≤0.05), although inclusion of age, race, and baseline depressive symptomatology in the model attenuated these relationships (p values≤0.09). Patients with the TNFA-308 (rs1800629) G/A genotype showed greater increases in fatigue severity than the G/G genotype (p=0.02). IL1B-511 (rs16944) genotype did not significantly predict changes in fatigue (p values>0.46). Patients with higher numbers of variants displayed greater increases in fatigue duration and interference (p values≤0.02) than patients with lower numbers of variants. Conclusions Prostate cancer patients treated with ADT who carry variant alleles of the IL6 and TNFA genes are susceptible to heightened fatigue. These preliminary data lend support for the role of genetic variation in the development of cancer-related fatigue secondary to ADT. Findings are relevant to attempts to develop personalized approaches to cancer treatment.

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Background Prostate cancer treatment is often accompanied by untoward side effects. Therefore, chemoprevention to reduce the risk and inhibit the progression of prostate cancer may be an effective approach to reducing disease burden. We investigated the safety and efficacy of Polyphenon E, a green tea extract, in reducing the progression of prostate cancer in TRAMP mice. Methods 119 male TRAMP and 119 C57BL/6J mice were treated orally with one of three doses of Polyphenon E (200, 500, 1,000 mg/kg/day) in drinking water ad libitum replicating human achievable doses. Baseline assessments were performed prior to treatments. Safety and efficacy assessments during treatments were performed when mice were 12, 22 and 32 weeks old. Results The number and size of tumors in treated TRAMP mice were significantly decreased compared to untreated animals. In untreated 32 weeks old TRAMP mice, prostate carcinoma metastasis to distant sites was observed in 100% of mice (8/8), compared to 13% of mice (2/16) treated with high dose Polyphenon E during the same period. Further, Polyphenon E treatment significantly inhibited metastasis in TRAMP mice in a dose-dependent manner (P=0.0003). Long-term (32 weeks) treatment with Polyphenon E was safe and well tolerated with no evidence of toxicity in C57BL/6J mice. Conclusion Polyphenon E is an effective chemopreventive agent in preventing the progression of prostate cancer to metastasis in TRAMP mice. Polyphenon E showed no toxicity in these mouse models. Impact Our findings provide additional evidence for the safety and chemopreventive effect of Polyphenon E in preventing metastatic progression of PCa.