OBJECTIVETo investigate the association of p53 polymorphisms with susceptibility to breast cancer in Chinese Han population.

METHODSIn this population-based case-control study, 84 cases with breast cancers and 168 controls, matched to the cases in terms of gender, habitation and age (5 years), were genotyped for codon 72, intron 3, and intron 6 polymorphisms in p53 gene by polymerase chain reaction-restriction-fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) methods. The haplotype distribution was estimated and compared by EH linkage software 1. 2.

RESULTSThe distributions of age, alcohol drinking, family history of cancer in first and second relatives were not significantly different between cases and controls. There was significant association between cigarette smoking and breast cancer (chi(2)=6.455, P=0.018), the percentage of ever or current smokers was significantly higher in cases (7.1 %) than that in controls (1.2%). The distributions of allelotype and genotype of codon72, intron 3, and intron 6 were also not significantly different between cases and controls (P>0.05). No significant association was found between the risk of breast cancer and p53 polymorphisms. The genetic linkage disequilibrium existed in these three polymorphic sites in controls, and the Arg-A-G and Pro-A-G were the most common haplotypes both in cases and controls. There was no significant association of p53 haplotype with risk of breast cancer.

CONCLUSIONp53 codon72, intron 3, and intron 6 polymorphisms may not be associated with the susceptibility of breast cancer. The Arg-A-G and Pro-A-G haplotypes are the most common haplotypes in Chinese Han population.