643 Background: The estrogen receptor (ER) is well acknowledged as a prognostic factor in breast cancer, and it is a prerequisite to use the predictive information for hormonal therapy. We investigated whether that the different polymorphisms of the estrogen receptor could influence its expression or functionality. Methods: DNA was extracted from white blood cells of 236 breast cancer patients and 236 healthy, matched controls. The ER genotypes were determined by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification followed by restriction enzyme digestion of the PCR product. Results were shown by electrophoreses. Clinical data such as histologic types, pTNM stage and patients age were available for statistical analyses. Results: We found a statistically significant correlation between the estrogen receptor polymorphism pattern and breast cancer. The receptor type PP was detected statistically significantly more often in postmenopausal breast cancer patients (PP vs pp+Pp, p =0.03). However, there was no correlation to the histobiochemical receptor status or UICC-Stadium. Conclusions: These results show an association between the estrogen receptor polymorphism and breast cancer. It seems to be that a complete lack of the p-allel is a risk factor to develop breast cancer at postmenopausal age. There was no influence on estrogen receptor expression or clinical tumor stage. Thus, we propose that there is no clinical use for estrogen receptor polymorphism analyses at this stage. No significant financial relationships to disclose.
Association of serum vitamin D Level and vitamin D receptor polymorphism (Apa 1) and breast cancer