Association between polymorphisms within the susceptibility region 8q24 and breast cancer in a Chinese population

Recent publications have found associations between single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 8q24 and the risk of breast cancer (BC) in some populations, but the conclusions are inconsistent. In order to further investigate the association between variants in this region and BC risk in Chinese population, we conducted an independent hospital-based case–control study to discern the effects of these SNPs on BC risk. We genotyped three 8q24 SNPs (rs13281615, rs6983267, and rs9642880) in 485 cases and 530 cancer-free controls. The results indicated that the rs13281615 G allele significantly increased BC risk, with an odds ratio (OR) of 1.23 (95 % confidence interval (CI) = 1.03–1.46) under the allelic model. Besides, stratification analysis reported that the significant association remained in the estrogen receptor (ER)+/progesterone receptor (PR)+ subgroup with a P value of 0.007 under the allelic model (OR = 1.33, 95 % CI = 1.08–1.63). For the rs9642880 variant, only a feeble association was observed for the GT genotype compared with the GG genotype (OR = 1.33, 95 % CI = 1.01–1.74). In addition, there was a negligible association between rs6983267 and BC risk in the ER−/PR− subgroup. However, no significant finding was observed in the overall participants. The findings suggested that polymorphisms in 8q24 may contribute to susceptibility to BC risk. However, functional studies are warranted to further elucidate the mechanisms of the association.