MMP-7 A-181G Polymorphism in Breast Cancer Patients from Western Iran

BACKGROUND: Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are upregulated in tumors. The MMP-7 A-181G polymorphism is associated with increased expression of the MMP-7 gene. Aim of the present study was to investigate the association between the MMP-7 A-181G polymorphism and susceptibility to breast cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The MMP-7 A-181G variants were studied in a cohort of 251 subjects consisting of 100 breast cancer patients and 151 healthy controls; all were from Western Iran. The MMP-7 A-181G genotypes were identified using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) analysis. RESULTS: The frequencies of the MMP-7 AA, AG, and GG genotypes in healthy individuals were 34.4, 50.4, and 15.2%, respectively. In breast cancer patients, the frequencies of AA (34%), AG (52%), and GG (14%) genotypes (p = 0.95) were similar to those in the controls. There was a trend toward an increased frequency of the combined genotype of MMP-7 AG+GG in patients with lymph node metastasis (70.4%) compared to those without metastasis (66.7%). Also, in patients with invasive lobular carcinoma, the frequency of the MMP-7 AG+GG genotype tended to be higher (71.4%) compared to that in patients with invasive ductal carcinoma (66.2%) (p = 0.78). CONCLUSION: Our findings indicate that the MMP-7 A-181G polymorphism may not be correlated with susceptibility to breast cancer in our population.