Genetic variation in progesterone receptor gene and ovarian cancer risk: A case control study

Background: Previous studies examined the association of genetic variation in progesterone receptor (PR) gene (PGR) with ovarian cancer, possibly by altering the expression of PR-B isoform, but with mixed outcome. Objective: This study evaluated the association of PGR variants with ovarian cancer and associated features. Methods: This was a retrospective case-control study, which involved 82 women with ovarian cancer and 95 cancer-free women who served as controls. Genotyping was done by Taqman (R) SNP genotyping by qRT-PCR. The PGR variants tested were rs471767 (A > G), rs590688 (G > C), and rs10895068 (G > A). Stratification analyses were used for testing the correlation between the PGR variants with ovarian cancer susceptibility according to menstruation status, FIGO classification, pathological grade, and chemotherapy. Results: Significantly lower minor allele frequency (MAF) of rs10895068 was seen among ovarian cancer patients, thereby imparting disease protective nature to this variant. Significant association of rs10895068 genotypes with ovarian cancer was seen under the dominant model, but not other genetic models. FIGO classification correlated positively with rs471767 and rs10895068, while rs10895068 correlated positively with lymph node positivity. Three-locus haplotype analysis identified ACA and HCG haplotypes to be negatively associated with the risk of ovarian cancer. Conclusions: This report confirms the contribution of PGR variants, specifically the rs10895068 (+331G/A) the etiology of ovarian cancer.