Association Between Genetic Polymorphisms and Ovarian Cancer Risk

Abstract

Background: The etiology of ovarian cancer is not fully understood. Polymorphisms in low penetrance genes involved in carcinogen and estrogen metabolism are hypothesized to play a role in the initiation of carcinogenesis. Patients and Methods: A case-control study was conducted to investigate the role of these polymorphisms in ovarian cancer risk. The participants were genotyped for eleven polymorphisms in seven genes involved in estrogen and xenobiotic metabolism (CYP1A1, CYP1B1, COMT, GSTP1, NAT2, estrogen receptor ESR, and progesterone receptor PGR). Results and Conclusion: The odds ratios for ovarian cancer risk were 2.02 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.14-3.56) in the NAT2 intermediate acetylators and 4.07 (95% CI = 1.30-12.70) in the slow acetylators. At least three cumulative high-risk genotypes increased ovarian cancer risk, but not significantly. More studies are needed in order to define genetic ovarian risk factors.