Lack of Effects of Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor Gamma Genetic Polymorphisms on Breast Cancer Risk: a Case-Control Study and Pooled Analysis

A growing body of evidence suggests that the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma (PPARγ)gene may harbor targets for the chemoprevention of breast cancer. However, it is unclear whether polymorphismsin the PPARγ gene are associated with the susceptibility of breast cancer. We performed a candidate geneassociation study between PPARγ polymorphisms and breast cancer and a meta-analysis on the association ofbreast cancer with selected PPARγ variants. Six single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the PPARγ genewere analyzed among 456 breast cancer patients and 461 controls from the National Cancer Center in Korea.Association between the polymorphisms and breast cancer risk were assessed using the Cochrane-Armitage testfor trend and a multivariate logistic regression model. Two SNPs, rs3856806 and rs1801282, had been previouslyanalyzed, thus enabling us to perform pooled analyses on their associations with breast cancer susceptibility.Our findings from the candidate gene association study showed no association between the PPARγ genepolymorphisms and breast cancer risk. A meta-analysis combining existing studies and our current study alsorefuted an association of the PPARγ gene with breast cancer. Our findings suggest that the PPARγ gene may notharbor variants that alter breast cancer susceptibility, although a moderate sample size might have precludeda decisive conclusion.