Estrogen-metabolizing gene polymorphisms in the assessment of female hormone-dependent cancer risk

Abstract

Allelic variants of cytochrome P450: CYP1A1, CYP1A2, CYP19 (Aromatase) and II-phase enzyme Sulfotransferase (SULT1A1) genes are associated with a high risk of hormone-dependent cancers. We estimated a frequency of these allelic variants in the female Caucasian population of the Novosibirsk region of Russia and their association with the elevated risk of ovarian and endometrial cancer. A DNA bank of gynecologic oncology patients, patients with benign gynecologic diseases and healthy women was created, and the following single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were examined: CYP1A1 M1 polymorphism, that is, T264 --> C transition in the 3'-noncoding region; CYP1A2*1F polymorphism, that is, C734 --> A transversion in CYP1A2 gene; C --> T transition (Arg264Cys) in exon 7 of CYP19; SULT1A1*2 polymorphism, that is, G638 --> A transition (Arg213His) in SULT1A1 gene. A positive correlation of C allele of CYP1A2*1F and G allele of SULT1A1*2 with hormone-dependent cancers in women was found. Thus, these genes are appropriate candidates for studying the contribution of genetic factors to endocrine disorder and environmentally determined diseases susceptibility. In contrast, no association of CYP19 and CYP1A1 polymorphisms with increased cancer risk was revealed.