Breast cancer susceptibility loci and mammographic density. Academic Article uri icon

Overview

abstract

  • INTRODUCTION: Recently, the Breast Cancer Association Consortium (BCAC) conducted a multi-stage genome-wide association study and identified 11 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with breast cancer risk. Given the high degree of heritability of mammographic density and its strong association with breast cancer, it was hypothesised that breast cancer susceptibility loci may also be associated with breast density and provide insight into the biology of breast density and how it influences breast cancer risk. METHODS: We conducted an analysis in the Nurses' Health Study (n = 1121) to assess the relation between 11 breast cancer susceptibility loci and mammographic density. At the time of their mammogram, 217 women were premenopausal and 904 women were postmenopausal. We used generalised linear models adjusted for covariates to determine the mean percentage of breast density according to genotype. RESULTS: Overall, no association between the 11 breast cancer susceptibility loci and mammographic density was seen. Among the premenopausal women, three SNPs (rs12443621 [TNRc9/LOC643714], rs3817198 [lymphocyte-specific protein-1] and rs4666451) were marginally associated with mammographic density (p < 0.10). All three of these SNPs showed an association that was consistent with the direction in which these alleles influence breast cancer risk. The difference in mean percentage mammographic density comparing homozygous wildtypes to homozygous variants ranged from 6.3 to 8.0%. None of the 11 breast cancer loci were associated with postmenopausal breast density. CONCLUSION: Overall, breast cancer susceptibility loci identified through a genome-wide association study do not appear to be associated with breast cancer risk.

publication date

  • August 5, 2008

Research

keywords

  • Breast Neoplasms
  • Genetic Predisposition to Disease
  • Mammography
  • Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide

Identity

PubMed Central ID

  • PMC2575539

Scopus Document Identifier

  • 65849089160

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

  • 10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-07-2749

PubMed ID

  • 18681954

Additional Document Info

volume

  • 10

issue

  • 4