A Common Variant in the SIAH2 Locus Is Associated with Estrogen Receptor-Positive Breast Cancer in the Chinese Han Population

Background

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified many loci associated with breast cancer risk. These studies have primarily been conducted in populations of European descent.

Objective

To determine whether previously reported susceptibility loci in other ethnic groups are also risk factors for breast cancer in a Chinese population.

Method

We genotyped 21 previously reported single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within a female Chinese cohort of 1203 breast cancer cases and 2525 healthy controls using the Sequenom iPlex platform. Fourteen SNPs passed the quality control test. These SNPs were subjected to statistical analysis for the entire cohort and were further analyzed for estrogen receptor (ER) status. The associations of the SNPs with disease susceptibility were assessed using logistic regression, adjusting for age. The Bonferroni correction was used to conservatively account for multiple testing, and the threshold for statistical significance was P<3.57×10⁻³ (0.05/14).

Result

Although none of the SNPs showed an overall association with breast cancer, an analysis of the ER status of the breast cancer patients revealed that the SIAH2 locus (rs6788895; P = 5.73×10⁻⁴, odds ratio OR] = 0.81) is associated with ER-positive breast cancer.

Conclusion

A common variant in the SIAH2 locus is associated with ER-positive breast cancer in the Chinese Han population. The replication of published GWAS results in other ethnic groups provides important information regarding the genetic etiology of breast cancer.