• B Diakite, A Tazzite, K Hamzi, H Jouhadi, and S Nadifi.
• Genetics and Molecular Pathology Laboratory, Medical school of Casablanca, University Hassan II, Morocco.
• Afr Health Sci. 2012 Jun 1; 12 (2): 204209204-9.

BackgroundMethylenetetrahydrofolate (MTHFR) enzyme plays an important role in folate metabolism which is involved in DNA methylation, repair, and synthesis.ObjectiveWe investigated if the MTHFR C677T polymorphism modulates the risk of developing breast cancer in Moroccan women.MethodsGenotyping was performed by PCR-RFLP method on a sample of 96 patients with breast cancer and 117 controls.ResultsA positive correlation was found between the MTHFR C677T polymorphism and progesterone receptors expression (p= 0.04). According to menopausal status, the heterozygous CT (OR = 2.29 and P = 0.03) was statistically significant in pre-menopausal women. There was a significant association between C677T polymorphism and breast cancer risk in both additive (OR = 2.2, 95% CI = 1.24-3.86, p = 0.007) and dominant (OR = 2.10, CI 95% = 1.21-3.64, p = 0.008) models. In addition, the T allele were associated with a high breast cancer risk (OR = 1.59, 95% CI = 1.04-2.44, p = 0.03).ConclusionIn the light of our preliminary study, 677T allele and 677CT MTHFR genotype may represent a genetic determinant increasing breast cancer risk in Moroccan women. A larger study including a larger sample size and more information is needed to confirm our conclusions.

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