EGF promoter SNPs, plasma EGF levels and risk of breast cancer in Chinese women.
Epidermal growth factor (EGF), a potent mitogenic peptide, plays an important role in the development of cancers, including breast cancer. Previous studies showed that plasma EGF levels may influence the risk of cancer. In the current study, we hypothesized that genetic variants in the promoter region of EGF may influence plasma EGF levels and therefore are associated with breast cancer susceptibility. We genotyped three EGF polymorphisms (G61A, G-1380A, and A-1744G) in the promoter region by PCR-RFLP and measured plasma EGF levels using an enzyme immunoassay in a case-control study of Chinese women. We found that the mean plasma EGF levels in breast cancer patients (249.06 +/- 197.54 pg/ml) were significantly lower than those in controls (982.41 +/- 375.57 pg/ml, P < 0.001). There was a significant difference of plasma EGF levels among different genotypes carriers of the G-1380A locus in 654 controls (P = 0.007). After adjustment for age, body mass index, family history of cancer, age at menarche, and menopause status, EGF-1380AA carriers had significantly higher plasma EGF levels than -1380GG carriers did (P = 0.003). However, we did not find any significant associations between the three EGF polymorphisms (G61A, G-1380A, and A-1744G) and the risk of breast cancer. These findings indicated that plasma EGF levels served as a protective marker against breast cancer in our study and EGF G-1380A variant might be a modifier on it. Further studies are warranted to verify these findings.
Wang
Yan
Y
Laboratory of Reproductive Medicine, Cancer Research Center of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.
Tian
Tian
T
Hu
Zhibin
Z
Tang
Jinhai
J
Wang
Shui
S
Wang
Xuechen
X
Qin
Jianwei
J
Huo
Xiang
X
Gao
Jun
J
Ke
Qiao
Q
Jin
Guangfu
G
Ma
Hongxia
H
Wang
Xinru
X
Shen
Hongbing
H
D000328:Adult; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000209:etiology* / Q000235:genetics; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004815:Epidermal Growth Factor / Q000097:blood* / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D012307:Risk Factors
D004815:Epidermal Growth Factor