Abstract
BACKGROUND: Prohibitin 3' untranslated region 1630 C>T (rs6917) polymorphism creates a variant T allele that lacks the antiproliferative activity of the more common functional C allele. Previous studies indicate that women carrying the prohibitin T allele have an increased susceptibility to breast cancer. However, the role of 1630 C>T polymorphism in mRNA expression of prohibitin and its contribution to carcinogenesis in the breast remains controversial. METHODS: Using mRNA expression data from the HapMap online database, we sought an association between prohibitin 1630 C>T polymorphism and its mRNA expression, then conducted a meta-analysis of prohibitin 1630 C>T polymorphism and risk of breast cancer. RESULTS: Although no significant association was found between prohibitin 1630 C>T polymorphism and mRNA expression in lymphoblastoid cell lines from the HapMap database (P trend = 0.543), the present meta-analysis involving 5072 cases and 4796 controls demonstrated that prohibitin 1630 C>T polymorphism was significantly correlated with breast cancer risk in allele contrast model T versus C (odds ratio [OR] 1.09, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.01-1.18), the homozygote codominant model TT versus CC (OR 1.47, 95% CI 1.12-1.92), and the recessive model TT versus CC/CT (OR 1.45, 95% CI 1.10-1.89). CONCLUSION: Our study indicates that minor allele T of prohibitin 1630 C>T polymorphism is associated with increased susceptibility to breast cancer.