Background: Genetic variation in DNA repair may contribute to differences in the susceptibility of several cancers. We evaluated two polymorphisms in the base excision repair pathway (BER) (XRCC1; Arg194Trp and Arg399Gln) and one polymorphism in the double strand DNA repair pathway (XRCC3; Thr241Met) for their association with breast cancer risk.
Methods: The association was analyzed in a nested case control study of 460 breast cancer cases and 324 cancer-free controls within the Iowa Women's Health Cohort. DNA was obtained from blood samples or paraffin embedded tissues (PET) and all samples were genotyped by one of three genotyping platforms-PCR-RFLP, PCR-INVADER, or Sequenom.
Results: None of the three polymorphisms studied were significantly associated with breast cancer risk (XRCC1: Arg194Trp (OR=1.21, 95% CI: 0.78-1.88); Arg399Gln (OR=1.20, 95% CI: 0.80-1.79); XRCC3: Thr241Met (OR=1.04, 95% CI: 0.76-1.41).
Conclusions: These results suggest that independently these polymorphisms of XRCC1 and XRCC3 genes do not contribute significantly to the genetic susceptibility of breast cancer.