Strong Correlation of MTHFR Gene Polymorphisms with Breast Cancer and its Prognostic Clinical Factors among Egyptian Females

INTRODUCTION: Globally, Breast cancer (BC) is considered the second most common type of cancer and the principal cause of death among affected women. Aim: In this study, we targeted to demonstrate the association of MTHFR single gene polymorphisms (SNPs) with the susceptibility of breast cancer, in addition to its correlation with the clinical patient features. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This work was conducted on 100 Egyptian females with breast cancer and 60 healthy matched controls. Clinical examinations and pathological investigations were recorded. Genotyping of MTHFR polymorphisms C677T (rs1801133) and A1298C (rs1801131) by using Restriction Fragment length Polymorphisms (RFLP) and Sequencing assays were performed. Univariate, Multivariate and Haplotype analysis for the allelic frequencies and the association with clinicopathological features of BC were assessed. RESULTS: The present data showed a strong significant association between the CT and TT of MTHFR (C677T), and AC and CC of (A1289C) with the susceptibility of BC showing highly statistical P- value (0.001). It was also demonstrated that the most frequent haplotype of the two loci of MTHFR (rs1801133-rs1801131) was TC. The latter was strongly associated with the aggressive clinical features of each of tumor size, advanced stage, involvement of cancer in lymph nodes, overexpression of HER2neu and dual negativity of both ER and PR hormones. CONCLUSIONS: SNPs within the MTHFR gene (C677T) and (A1289C) have strong correlation with BC among Egyptian females; These SNPs should be considered as important prognostic markers for identifying the individuals at high risk of developing BC and its progression.