(338) Nuclear Factor Kappa Beta Subunit 2 Genotype and Pain in Postmenopausal Women with Early-Stage Breast Cancer Prior Treatment

Abstract

The nuclear factor kappa beta (NF-kB) transcription factor complex is a regulatory element for genes involved in immune function and inflammation. Inflammatory processes are involved in the development and maintenance of symptom clusters. A polymorphism in subunit 2 of the NF-kB complex (NF-kB2) has been associated with symptom clusters in breast cancer patients. One of the most common symptoms experienced by breast cancer patients is pain. Little is known about the association between NF-kB2 and perception of pain in breast cancer patients. The purpose of this exploratory analysis was to compare pain severity with NFkB2 genotype (rs1056890) in women with early-stage breast cancer prior to adjuvant treatment initiation to gain insight into the mechanisms of pain development. Responses to the Brief Pain Inventory and NFkB2 genotype information were collected from 271 postmenopausal women aged 43 to 75 diagnosed with breast cancer as part of a larger cohort study. Of the 271 women, 257 (94.8%) reported race as being white. Univariate descriptive analysis of data showed 124 women were GG, 112 were AG, and 35 were AA. The overall average pain scores for the women on a 10-point scale with 0 being “no pain” and 10 being “pain as bad as you can imagine” were: 1.37 ±1.93 (AA), 1.89 ±2.37 (AG), 1.76 ±2.34 (GG). But, of the women reporting pain, the overall averages rose to: 3.20±1.66 (AA), 3.79 ±2.02 (AG), 3.82 ±2.00 (GG). Analysis of variance between the three genotypes was nonsignificant. The results of our analysis suggest that although there were no significant differences between NF-kB2 genotype and pain severity, the G genotype was present in those women with more severe pre-therapy pain. These results present a useful baseline for further study of the NF-kB2 genotype in cancer-related pain.