CCR5 and p53 codon 72 gene polymorphisms: Implications in breast cancer development

The aim of this study was to investigate the CCR5 gene and p53 codon 72 polymorphisms in a Brazilian population with breast cancer compared with healthy control subjects and to associate the clinical stage with these genotypes. No differences were detected for the D32 allele between breast cancer patients and the normal healthy donors (p=0.270), although this allele was more often present in blood donors. For p53 genotype analysis, breast cancer patients presented a significant (p<0.05) over-representation of p53 Arg homozygosity (55.5%) compared with the healthy control group (33.3%). Although no statistical difference occurred, a very strong tendency in breast cancer patients in stage III (p=0.0503) presenting homozygous genotype for Arg was verified. Five breast cancer patients were D32 deletion carriers and two patients presenting metastasis showed homozygous genotype for Arg. It is possible that p53 Arg homozygosity is associated with breast cancer and may represent a potential risk factor for breast tumorigenesis. In the present study, a higher percentage of breast cancer patients presented homozygous genotype for Arg and wild-type for CCR5 than the control subjects.