Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of ERCC2, hOGG1, and XRCC1 DNA repair genes and the risk of triple-negative breast cancer in Polish women

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) refers to about 15–20 % of all breast cancer cases. It is characterized by worse clinical outcome, poor prognosis, and absence of prognostic indicators. Several polymorphisms in the nucleotide excision repair (NER) and base excision repair (BER) gene have been extensively studied in association with various human cancers. The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of the hOGG1-Ser326Cys (rs13181), XRCC1-Arg194Trp (rs1799782), and ERCC2-Lys751Gln (rs13181) gene polymorphisms with clinical parameters and the risk for development of triple-negative breast cancer. Our research included 70 patients with TNBC and 70 healthy controls. Gene polymorphisms were genotyped by the PCR-RFLP (restriction fragment length polymorphism) method. The genotype distributions were contrasted by the chi-square test, and the significance of the polymorphism was assessed by multiple logistic regression producing odds ratios (ORs) and 95 % confidence intervals (CIs). In the present work, a relationship was identified between ERCC2-Lys751Gln polymorphism and the incidence of triple-negative breast cancer. An association was observed between triple-negative breast carcinoma occurrence and the presence of Gln/Gln genotype (OR = 5.71 (2.12–5.43), p = 0.0007). A tendency for an increased risk of TNBC was detected with the occurrence of 751Gln allele of ERCC2 polymorphism. No significant associations between Ser326Cys and Arg194Trp genotype and TNBC were observed. We suggest that the Lys751Gln polymorphism of the ERCC2 gene may be risk factors for triple-negative breast cancer development in Polish women.