Increased frequency of the S-allele of the L-myc oncogene in breast cancer

BACKGROUND: Association between restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLP) of known oncogenes and a predisposition to develop cancer have been postulated. The L-myc gene is a potential molecular marker associated with cancer susceptibility as well as metastasis, prognosis, and adverse survival. Our aim was to test the hypothesis that there was an association between L-myc S allele in breast cancer and a predisposition to the disease. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The distribution of L-myc polymorphism in 56 patients with breast cancer was determined by polymerase chain reaction-based restriction fragment length polymorphism and compared with that of 51 healthy control subjects. RESULTS: The allele frequencies of L and S in breast cancer patients were 0.70 and 0.30, respectively and those in normal individuals were 0.54 and 0.46, respectively. This difference was primarily the result of a high frequency of the S allele among breast cancer patients compared to controls. The frequency of S allele was significantly higher in breast cancer patients than in normal individuals (p < 0.01). No correlation was observed between the presence of L-myc S allele and several parameters of each patient's history or characteristics of tumor. CONCLUSION: Our results suggested that L-myc polymorphism may be significant in an individual's susceptibility to breast cancer in Turkey and may be useful for identifying patients at high risk of developing breast cancer.