Body mass index, IGF1-related polymorphisms and risk of familial breast cancer in women with no BRCA1 or BRCA2 pathogenic variant.

Abstract

Background: Body mass index (BMI) and some single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with IGF1 metabolism are risk factors for breast cancer (BC) in the general population. No investigation has been performed in women presenting a familial predisposition to BC, except in women carrying a pathogenic variant in BRCA1 or BRCA2 (BRCA1/2). We investigated the effect of BMI and IGF1-related SNPs in high-risk women with no BRCA1/2 pathogenic variant.

Methods: We conducted a case-control study in the GENESIS study (1556 cases and 1546 controls). We assessed association between 639,424 SNPs associated with circulating IGF1 level or located in genes of KEGG pathways involving IGF1 and BC using logistic regression models.

Results: A reduced risk of estrogen receptor (ER)-positive tumors was observed for premenopausal women with a BMI above 25 (OR=0.52, 95%CI:0.34-0.81). None of the SNPs were associated with BC except rs117292219 in STAT5A and associated with a reduced risk of ER-negative tumors (OR=0.41, 95%CI:0.26-0.66). No interaction between BMI and any of the analyzed SNPs was observed.

Conclusions: Our findings on BMI effect were consistent with that reported in the general population and in BRCA1/2 pathogenic variant carriers: overweight women have a reduced risk of BC before menopause, but no increased risk after menopause. We found few associations between IGF1-related SNPs and familial BC, even if variants at STAT5A locus warrant further investigation.

Impact: This large case-control study does not support a major role of the genetic variability of IGF1 metabolism in familial BC risk in women with no BRCA1/2 pathogenic variant.