Pharmacogenetic association between GSTP1 genetic polymorphism and febrile neutropenia in Japanese patients with early breast cancer

Background Genetic risk factors for febrile neutropenia (FN), the major adverse event of perioperative chemotherapy for early breast cancer, remain unclear. Methods This study retrospectively explored pharmacogenetic associations of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the uridine glucuronosyltransferase 2B7 ( UGT2B7 , rs7668258), glutathione- S -transferase pi 1 ( GSTP1 , rs1695), and microcephalin 1 ( MCPH1 , rs2916733) genes with chemotherapy-related adverse events in 102 Japanese women who received epirubicin and cyclophosphamide as perioperative chemotherapy for early breast cancer. Results The allele frequencies for all of the SNPs were in concordance with the Hap-Map data of Japanese individuals. Among the 24 patients who had FN at least once during all courses of chemotherapy, 23 had the A/A genotype, and 1 had the A/G genotype of the GSTP1 polymorphism (rs1695, P = 0.001); 23 of the 70 patients with the A/A genotype had FN, as compared with only 1 of the 32 patients with the A/G and G/G genotypes. The genotype distributions of the UGT2B7 and MCPH1 polymorphisms did not differ between the patients who had FN or grade 3/4 neutropenia and those who did not. Conclusion Among Japanese women who received epirubicin and cyclophosphamide as perioperative chemotherapy for early breast cancer, those with the A/A genotype of the GSTP1 polymorphism (rs1695) were more likely to have FN.