Lack of effects of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma genetic polymorphisms on breast cancer risk: a case-control study and pooled analysis

Abstract

A growing body of evidence suggests that the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma (PPAR gamma) gene may harbor targets for the chemoprevention of breast cancer. However, it is unclear whether polymorphisms in the PPAR gamma gene are associated with the susceptibility of breast cancer. We performed a candidate gene association study between PPAR gamma polymorphisms and breast cancer and a meta-analysis on the association of breast cancer with selected PPAR gamma variants. Six single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the PPAR gamma gene were analyzed among 456 breast cancer patients and 461 controls from the National Cancer Center in Korea. Association between the polymorphisms and breast cancer risk were assessed using the Cochrane-Armitage test for trend and a multivariate logistic regression model. Two SNPs, rs3856806 and rs1801282, had been previously analyzed, thus enabling us to perform pooled analyses on their associations with breast cancer susceptibility. Our findings from the candidate gene association study showed no association between the PPAR gamma gene polymorphisms and breast cancer risk. A meta-analysis combining existing studies and our current study also refuted an association of the PPAR gamma gene with breast cancer. Our findings suggest that the PPAR gamma gene may not harbor variants that alter breast cancer susceptibility, although a moderate sample size might have precluded a decisive conclusion.