Genetic variants in anti-Mullerian hormone and anti-Mullerian hormone receptor genes and breast cancer risk in Caucasians and African Americans

Abstract

Anti-Mullerian hormone (AMH) regulates ovarian folliculogenesis by signaling via its receptors, and elevated serum AMH levels are associated with an increased risk of breast cancer. No previous studies have examined the effects of genetic variants in AMH-related genes on breast cancer risk. We evaluated the associations of 62 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in AMH and its receptor genes, including AMH type 1 receptor (ACVR1) and AMH type 2 receptor (AMHR2), with the risk of breast cancer in the Women’s Insights and Shared Experiences (WISE) Study of Caucasians (346 cases and 442 controls), as well as African Americans (149 cases and 246 controls). Of the 62 SNPs evaluated, two showed a nominal significant association (P for trend < 0.05) with breast cancer risk among Caucasians, and another two among African Americans. The age-adjusted additive odds ratios (ORs) (95% confidence interval (95% CI)) of those two SNPs (ACVR1 rs12694937[C] and ACVR1 rs2883605[T]) for the risk of breast cancer among Caucasian women were 2.33 (1.20-4.52) and 0.68 (0.47-0.98), respectively. The age-adjusted additive ORs (95% CI) of those two SNPs (ACVR1 rs1146031[G] and AMHR2 functional SNP rs2002555[G]) for the risk of breast cancer among African American women were 0.63 (0.44-0.92) and 1.67 (1.10-2.53), respectively. However, these SNPs did not show significant associations after correction for multiple testing. Our findings do not provide strong supportive evidence for the contribution of genetic variants in AMH-related genes to the risk of developing breast cancer in either Caucasians or African Americans.