Role of alcohol and genetic polymorphisms of CYP2E1 and ALDH2 in breast cancer development

Objective We examined the potential association between alcohol consumption and genetic polymorphisms in the alcohol metabolizing enzymes, CYP2E1 and ALDH2, in individual susceptibility to breast cancer in a Korean study population. Methods Three hundred and forty-six histologically confirmed breast cancer patients and 377 controls with no present or previous history of cancer were recruited from several teaching hospitals in Seoul during 1995-2001. The CYP2E1 RsaI polymorphism was determined by a real time PCR method, and the ALDH2 Glu(487) Lys polymorphism was determined by a PCR method with confronting two-pair primers (PCR-CTPP). Results The drinking women had a 1.4-fold risk for breast cancer (95% CI = 0.99-2.11) compared to never drinkers after adjustment for age and family history of breast cancer. No statistically significant overall differences were seen in the genotype frequencies between breast cancer cases and controls. However, the 'ever'-drinking women with the CYP2E1 c2 allele containing genotypes had a 1.9-fold risk (95% CI = 0.99-3.83) for developing breast cancer compared to non-drinkers with the CYP2E1 c1/c1 genotype (P for interaction = 0.043). Conclusion This study therefore suggests that the CYP2E1 c2 allele may influence the individual susceptibility to breast cancer in alcohol-consuming women.