Absence of causal relationship between Parkinson’s disease and subsequent prostate cancer: evidence from meta-analysis and Mendelian randomization studies

Abstract

Background: Numerous observational studies have investigated the risk of prostate cancer (PCa) in patients diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease (PD). However, the existence of a definitive association remains uncertain. Methods: Systematic searches were performed on PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar for studies published up to October 1, 2023. For Mendelian randomized (MR) causal inference, we employed pooled data from the IPDGC and PRACTICAL Consortium. The inverse variance weighted (IVW) method served as the principal technique for estimating odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the associations under investigation. Results: Cumulative analysis of nine studies revealed no significant association between patients diagnosed with PD and the subsequent incidence of PCa ([relative ratio] RR = 0.89, 95%CI = 0.73 to 1.08, P = 0.237). However, subgroup analyses indicated a reduced occurrence of PCa in Caucasian patients with PD (RR = 0.81, 95%CI = 0.69 to 0.95, P = 0.011). MR analyses failed to establish a significant link between increased genetic susceptibility to PD and the risk of PCa (IVW OR = 1.025, 95%CI = 0.997 to 1.054, P = 0.082). Sensitivity analyses further corroborated the robustness of these results. Conclusion: Both observational meta-analysis and MR analysis based on genetic variation do not support an association between PD patients and the subsequent risk of PCa. Further research is warranted to unravel the potential underlying mechanisms linking these two diseases. Systematic review registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/, identifier CRD42023473527.