Colorectal cancer susceptibility variants alter risk of breast cancer in a Chinese Han population

Recent genome wide association studies (GWAS) and candidate gene studies have revealed many novel loci associated with colorectal cancer susceptibility. We evaluated the effect of these colorectal cancer-associated variants on the risk of breast cancer in a Chinese Han population. Seven single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) (rs3856806 in PPARG, rs7014346 in POU5F1P1, rs989902 in PTPN13, rs1801278 in IRS1, rs7003146 in TCF7L2, rs1503185 in PTPRJ, and rs63750447 in MLH1) were genotyped in Han Chinese subjects, including 216 patients with breast cancer and 216 matched controls, using the Sequenom MassARRAY platform. The association of genotypes with susceptibility to breast cancer was analyzed using the odds ratio (OR), with 95% confidence interval (CI) and logistic regression. Three SNPs (rs7014346, rs989902, and rs7003146) were found to be significantly associated with the susceptibility of breast cancer. The GA and AA genotypes of rs7003146 in TCF7L2, and the CA and CC genotype of rs989902 in PTPN13 were associated with reduced breast cancer risk in the Chinese Han population based on the best-fit dominant model. The GG genotype of rs7014346 in POU5F1P1 was also significantly associated with decreased breast cancer risk under the best-fit additive model. Our results confirmed the association of rs7014346 in POU5F1P1, rs989902 in PTPN13, and rs7003146 in TCF7L2 with variations in the risk of breast cancer in a Chinese Han population.