Abstract 2617: Cytokine and cytokine receptors of adaptive immune response are differentially associated with breast cancer risk in women of African ancestry and European ancestry

Abstract

Abstract Disparities in breast cancer biology are evident between women of African ancestry (AA) and women of European ancestry (EA), and may be due, in part, to differences in inflammatory pathway genes. Studies on the relationships between cytokines and breast cancer risk have focused on a small number of genes and have not included AA women. In a large case-control study of 1008 AA (n=547 cases) and 763 EA (n=381 cases) women, we systematically tested the association between risk of breast cancer and single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 22 cytokine and cytokine receptor genes involved in adaptive immune response pathways. Logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals in a genotypic (co-dominant) model adjusting for major breast cancer risk factors including age, education, body mass index (BMI), family history of breast cancer and proportion of European ancestry. All analyses were stratified on race. SNPs rs17810546 in IL12A (interleukin 12A), rs1041981 in LTA (lymphotoxin alpha), and rs3135932 in IL10RA, were associated with breast cancer risk in AA but not EA women. When stratifying by menopause and ER status, SNPs rs2070874 in IL4, rs1041981 in LTA and rs2430561 in IFNG (interferon gamma) were associated with breast cancer risk in pre-menopausal AA women, and SNPs rs2243248 in IL4 and rs746868 in LTA were associated with ER-negative breast cancer in EA women. Common variants in inflammatory pathway genes may help to define populations at high risk of breast cancer. Notable differences in distributions of SNPs and associations by ancestry may be related to the differential epidemiology of breast cancer in AA and EA women. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 103rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2012 Mar 31-Apr 4; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 2617. doi:1538-7445.AM2012-2617