rs16901979

A SNP on chromosome 8. Its most notable genotype is A;A: 1.5x increased risk for prostate cancer

Gene
None listed
Location
Chr 8127,112,671 (GRCh38)
Highest magnitude
2.9Worth knowing
Tested on
23andMe
Minor allele frequency
18%

Genotypes

As shown in 23andMe and AncestryDNA files.

  1. A;AMost notableBad1.5x increased risk for prostate cancerWorth knowing · 2.98% of people
  2. A;CBad1.5x increased risk for prostate cancerWorth knowing · 2.933% of people
  3. C;CGoodnormal riskTypical · 0.060% of people

On SNPedia: (A;A), (A;C), (C;C). Magnitude rates how notable a genotype is from 0 to 10, not how risky it is.

Frequency

Share of each genotype in 11 HapMap populations.

  • AverageA;A 8% A;C 33% C;C 60%
  • European ancestry (Utah)A;A 0% A;C 6% C;C 94%
  • Han Chinese (Beijing)A;A 7% A;C 38% C;C 56%
  • Japanese (Tokyo)A;A <1% A;C 34% C;C 66%
  • Yoruba (Nigeria)A;A 33% A;C 49% C;C 18%
  • African ancestry (Southwest US)A;A 5% A;C 54% C;C 40%
  • Chinese (Denver)A;A 6% A;C 43% C;C 51%
  • Gujarati IndianA;A 2% A;C 24% C;C 74%
  • Luhya (Kenya)A;A 24% A;C 52% C;C 25%
  • Mexican ancestry (Los Angeles)A;A 0% A;C 7% C;C 93%
  • Maasai (Kenya)A;A 6% A;C 43% C;C 51%
  • TuscanA;A 0% A;C 9% C;C 91%

Conditions, medicines and genes

Notes

From SNPedia

Show notes, about 180 words

rs16901979 is a SNP on chromosome 8q24, associated with increased risk for prostate cancer in several studies. In some studies, the regions have been divided, and this SNP falls in region 2. In a study of over 3,600 Caucasians with prostate cancer, rs16901979 is one of five SNPs used (with family history as a sixth factor) to cumulatively predict overall risk. On their own, the rs16901979(A;A) and (A;C) risk genotypes yield an odds ratio for developing prostate cancer of 1.53 (CI: 1.22-1.92, p=1.8x10e-4) and may account for 3.6% of population attributable risk. cancer related according to this blog Two genetic markers in the 8q24 region of chromosome 8 rs7008482 and rs16901979 have been linked to an increased risk of prostate cancer in African Americans. abstract In follow-up studies looking at disease severity (and not just overall risk), this SNP is reported to account for the risk (from region 2) of advanced prostate cancer. A meta-analysis of 10+ studies comprising over 15,000 prostate cancer patients concluded that the odds ratio for rs16901979(A) allele carriers is 1.74 (CI: 1.72-1.77).

Source and license

Adapted from rs16901979 on SNPedia, using a snapshot taken October 16, 2026. SNPedia content is shared under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 US, and this page is shared under the same license.

SNPedia is a community-edited wiki. Its entries can be incomplete, out of date or wrong, and nothing here is a diagnosis or medical advice. Magnitude is a community rating of how interesting a genotype is, not a risk score.