Influences of apolipoprotein E polymorphism on the risk for breast cancer and HER2/neu status in Taiwan

Apolipoprotein E ( APOE) polymorphism plays an important role in lipid metabolism. Preliminary evidence suggests that APOE genotype appears to be a risk factor for not only cardiovascular disease, but also Alzheimer's disease and cancer. We screened the APOE genotype in 290 breast cancer patients and 232 non-cancer controls and determined the relationship between APOE gene polymorphism and breast cancer in Taiwan. We found risk for breast cancer was associated with the APOE genotype (chi(2) = 8.652, p = 0.013). Carriers of the epsilon 4 allele were more common in breast cancer cases than carriers of epsilon 3 allele ( p = 0.004, OR = 1.786, 95% CI: 1.197 - 2.664). In addition, the epsilon 4 allele is also associated with HER2/neu negative status in breast cancer patients (p = 0.006, OR = 0.277, 95% CI: 0.111 - 0.693). No significant associations between APOE genotype and tumor grade, TN classification, progesterone receptor, estrogen receptor, lymphatic invasion, or recurrence of breast cancer were in evidence. These results suggest that the APOE epsilon 4 allele may be a risk factor for breast cancer and correlates with HER2/neu negative status.