Maryam Bozorgi Zarini - Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran.
Ziba Rahimi - Medical Biology Research Center, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah,Iran
Zohreh Rahimi - Medical Biology Research Center, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah,Iran

Introduction & Aim: Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women worldwide. In Iran the average of diagnosis is about 10 years younger compared with developed countries. The genetic polymorphism in one-carbon metabolism plays an important role in breast cancer risk. We conducted a case-control study to investigate the association between MTHFR C677T polymorphism and breast cancer risk in Kermanshah population. Material and Methods: A matched case-control study was conducted using 100 newly diagnosed breast cancer patients and 197 healthy individuals as controls. Genotyping of MTHFR C677T was performed using PCR-RFLP method. Results: The frequency of MTHFR 677TT genotype in patients (10%) was significantly higher than that in controls (3%, p=0.008) that was associated with 1.97-fold (95%CI 1.16-3.36, p=0.012) increased the risk of breast cancer. Also, a significantly higher frequency of MTHFR 677T allele in patients than controls increased the susceptibility to breast cancer by 1.56 times (95%CI-1.06-2.92, p=0.024). Conclusion: Our study indicated a significant association between MTHFR C677T polymorphism and the risk of breast cancer in Kermanshah population. It is suggested that variants of one-carbon metabolism genes such as MTHFR plays a crucial role in susceptibility to breast cancer

Breast cancer, MTHFR C677T, Polymorphism, Kermanshah