Association between rs61764370, rs9266, and rs140080026 polymorphisms of the KRAS gene and breast cancer risk in a Mexican population

OBJECTIVE: Polymorphisms of the KRAS gene have been shown to be associated with cancer. However, their association with breast cancer (BC) has been inconsistent. The purpose of this study was to determine the frequency with which the rs61764370, rs9266, and rs140080026 polymorphisms of the KRAS gene are associated with BC in patients of the Mexican population. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The rs61764370 A>C or T>G and rs140080026 A>G polymorphisms were determined by Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR), and the rs9266 A>G polymorphism was determined by DNA sequencing of healthy Mexican subjects and BC patients. RESULTS: We observed that 78% of BC patients are overweight and/or obese, 57% have metastatic lymph nodes, 64% have luminal A/B cancer subtypes, and 61% have stage III-IV cancer. The rs61764370 polymorphism was associated with BC susceptibility when the BC patients and the control group were compared for the AC genotype (p= 0.020), AC vs. AA genotypes (heterozygous model: p= 0.016), AC/CC genotype (dominant model: p= 0.002), and the C allele (p= 0.007). The AC/CC genotype (p= 0.018; rs61764370) and AG/GG genotype (p= 0.005; rs9266) were associated with age in BC patients >= 50 years old. The AC/CC (rs61764370) and AG/ GG (rs9266) genotypes were classified by molecular subtype, TNM stage, miscarriage, lymph node metastasis, ductal type, and Ki-67. These classifications were also associated with BC patients, indicating that these factors may significantly contribute to BC risk. The AAA (OR 0.65, 95% CI 0.43-0.98, p= 0.039) and CAA (OR 3.25, 95% CI 1.13-9.36, p= 0.021) haplotypes were also associated with BC susceptibility. In addition, 94 polymorphisms were identified on the 3'UTR of the KRAS gene GRCh 38/hg3 (25,209,490-25,209,122) in BC (n =112) and control (n =113) samples. However, 92 of these polymorphisms have only expressed the major allele (wild-type allele). CONCLUSIONS: The rs61764370 polymorphism in the KRAS gene was associated with BC susceptibility in the Mexican population. The dominant model of the rs61764370 and rs9266 polymorphisms (classified by molecular subtype, miscarriage, TNM stage, lymph node metastasis, and Ki-67) could significantly contribute to BC risk in patients >= 50 years. The CAA haplotype could significantly contribute to BC risk in the Mexican population analyzed.