Common ataxia telangiectasia mutated haplotypes and risk of breast cancer: a nested case-control study.
BACKGROUND
The ataxia telangiectasia mutated (ATM) gene is a tumor suppressor gene with functions in cell cycle arrest, apoptosis, and repair of DNA double-strand breaks. Based on family studies, women heterozygous for mutations in the ATM gene are reported to have a fourfold to fivefold increased risk of breast cancer compared with noncarriers of the mutations, although not all studies have confirmed this association. Haplotype analysis has been suggested as an efficient method for investigating the role of common variation in the ATM gene and breast cancer. Five biallelic haplotype tagging single nucleotide polymorphisms are estimated to capture 99% of the haplotype diversity in Caucasian populations.


METHODS
We conducted a nested case-control study of breast cancer within the Nurses' Health Study cohort to address the role of common ATM haplotypes and breast cancer. Cases and controls were genotyped for five haplotype tagging single nucleotide polymorphisms. Haplotypes were predicted for 1309 cases and 1761 controls for which genotype information was available.


RESULTS
Six unique haplotypes were predicted in this study, five of which occur at a frequency of 5% or greater. The overall distribution of haplotypes was not significantly different between cases and controls (chi2 = 3.43, five degrees of freedom, P = 0.63).


CONCLUSIONS
There was no evidence that common haplotypes of ATM are associated with breast cancer risk. Extensive single nucleotide polymorphism detection using the entire genomic sequence of ATM will be necessary to rule out less common variation in ATM and sporadic breast cancer risk.
Tamimi
Rulla M
RM
Program in Molecular and Genetic Epidemiology, Department of Epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. nhrmt@channing.harvard.edu
Hankinson
Susan E
SE
Spiegelman
Donna
D
Kraft
Peter
P
Colditz
Graham A
GA
Hunter
David J
DJ
D000328:Adult; D001260:Ataxia Telangiectasia / Q000235:genetics; D064007:Ataxia Telangiectasia Mutated Proteins; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D005260:Female; D006239:Haplotypes / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009154:Mutation / Q000235:genetics*; D009726:Nurses; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide / Q000235:genetics; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / Q000235:genetics*; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D025521:Tumor Suppressor Proteins
D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D025521:Tumor Suppressor Proteins; C576324:ATM protein, human; D064007:Ataxia Telangiectasia Mutated Proteins; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases