Polimorfismos nos Genes CYP17, CYP1B1, CYP1A1 e COMT e as Lesões Genômicas Espontâneas em Pacientes com Câncer de Mama

Abstract

Breast cancer (BC) is the second most frequent kind of cancer in worldwide and the most common malignant disease among women. Although cancer is considered a typical aging disease, BC is presenting some distinctive features concerning age-specific incidence rates. Risk factors for breast cancer include early age of menarche and late menopause, hormonal therapies, exposure to environmental pollutants, smoking and alcohol habits, however, increased or prolonged estrogen exposure is the most important risk factor. Estrogen biosynthesis and metabolism requires a great number of enzymatic pathways regulated by different genes with polymorphisms that has been described in association with BC and is well known that estrogens can damage the DNA by increasing the formation of DNA adducts and by inducing 8-hidroxilation of purine bases and breaks in DNA strand. Thus, the aim of the present work was to investigate the levels of DNA damage in BC patients prior chemotherapy or radiotherapy, the possible association of the estrogen metabolizing genes CYP17, CYP1B1, CYP1A1 and COMT polymorphisms on breast cancer risk and also the possible influence of these polymorphisms on the spontaneous levels of DNA damage. Micronucleus test and Comet assay was performed to detect spontaneous DNA damage, using peripheral blood lymphocytes from 45 women diagnosed for Ductal “in situ” or invasive breast carcinoma and 85 healthy control women. The results showed that the micronucleus (MNs) frequencies and DNA damage detected by Comet assay were significantly higher in BC group than in controls. The levels of DNA damage were similar in smokers and non-smokers and aging did not influence the frequencies of MNs observed BC patients and in controls. For molecular approach the casuistic comprised of 131 healthy control women and 104 women also diagnosed for Ductal “in situ” or invasive breast carcinoma. Comparison of the occurrence of the polymorphisms in CYP17, CYP1A1 and COMT was not statistically different between patients and controls. However, the risk for BC is three-fold increased in non-smokers Leu/Leu group for CYP1B1 (P = 0,04, OR = 3; 95% confidence intervals: 1,1-8,2). The polymorphisms studied in the above mentioned genes did not influence the age of menarche or menopause differently in BC and controls. The influence of CYP17, CYP1B1, CYP1A1 and COMT polymorphisms on the levels of DNA damage was also analyzed and while CYP17 and CYP1A1 did not affect the MNs frequencies or the DNA damage observed by Comet assay in neither in BC nor in control group, the Leu allele of CYP1B1 was significantly associated with the higher levels of DNA damage in control group, but did not interfere on DNA damage detected in BC group. On the other hand in the control group, individuals carrying the Met allele of COMT exhibited lower levels of DNA damage when compared to wild type homozygous, but in BC group the polymorphic homozygous individuals (Met/Met) presented higher levels of DNA than their wild type homozygous or heterozygous counterparts. In conclusion, the present work demonstrated that BC women present an important genomic instability and suggests that estrogens metabolizing polymorphisms may modify the levels of DNA damage in healthy and in BC women.