title: The association of DNA Repair with breast cancer risk in women. A comparative observational study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Previous studies have found a link between a low DNA repair capacity (DRC) level and increased cancer risk. Our aim was to assess the statistical association of DRC level and breast cancer (BC) using a case-control epidemiological study in a Hispanic community.
  
  
  METHODS
  We conducted a comparative observational study to assess the validity of DRC in detecting BC in 824 women throughout Puerto Rico. Over a 6-year period, we compared 285 women newly diagnosed with BC to 539 without BC. DRC levels were measured in lymphocytes by means of a host-cell reactivation assay. We assessed the sensitivity, specificity, and association using the receiver operating characteristic curve analysis. Multiple logistic regression-adjusted odds ratios were estimated with 95% confidence level to measure the strength of the association of DRC and BC after adjusting for all confounders simultaneously.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Compared to women without cancer, women with BC showed an average decrease of 60% in their DRC levels (p < 0.001). Validity of the association of DRC as a measure of BC risk showed a sensitivity of 83.2% and specificity of 77.6% (p < 0.0001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results support the usefulness of DRC level as a measure of BC risk. Additional studies in other populations are needed to further verify its usefulness.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, Physiology, and Toxicology, Department of Surgery, Ponce School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ponce, Puerto Rico 00732. jmatta@psm.edu
authors.forename: Jaime
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Matta
authors.forename: Miguel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Echenique
authors.forename: Esperanza
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Negron
authors.forename: Luisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Morales
authors.forename: Wanda
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Vargas
authors.forename: Felipe Sánchez
authors.initials: FS
authors.lastname: Gaetan
authors.forename: Eduardo Ramírez
authors.initials: ER
authors.lastname: Lizardi
authors.forename: Aníbal
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Torres
authors.forename: Jose Ortiz
authors.initials: JO
authors.lastname: Rosado
authors.forename: Guillermo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bolaños
authors.forename: Juan González
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Cruz
authors.forename: Joaquín
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Laboy
authors.forename: Ricardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Barnes
authors.forename: Santos Santiago
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Medina
authors.forename: Angel
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Romero
authors.forename: Rosendo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Martinez
authors.forename: Julie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dutil
authors.forename: Erick
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Suarez
authors.forename: Carolina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Alvarez-Garriga
authors.forename: Manuel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bayona
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004249:DNA Damage / Q000235:genetics*; D004260:DNA Repair; D005260:Female; D005819:Genetic Markers; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008875:Middle Aged; D011647:Puerto Rico / Q000453:epidemiology; D012372:ROC Curve; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012307:Risk Factors; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D005819:Genetic Markers