Genetic polymorphisms and metastatic breast cancer survival

Abstract

Variability of disease progression and survival exists among metastatic breast cancer patients. Treatment efficacy may be dependent on genetic variants in DNA repair and cell-cycle regulatory genes. This study examined three genetic variants in DNA repair and cell-cycle control genes (XRCC1, XRCC3 and CCND1) in 95 patients treated with high-dose chemotherapy. They found that all three were significantly associated with disease progression and survival independently, and that combinations of these variants progressively worsened breast cancer survival. Prior to identifying these genetic variants as prognostic indicators, replication of results in large randomized trials using standard treatment regimens is warranted.