Antioxidant vitamins intake, ataxia telangiectasia mutated (ATM) genetic polymorphisms, and breast cancer risk

Abstract

Ataxia telangiectasia mutated (ATM) cells exist under a constant state of oxidative stress with high levels of reactive oxygen species, which are removed by cellular antioxidant vitamins. We investigated the independent and combined effect of antioxidant vitamins intake and the ATM genotype or diplotype on the breast cancer risk. Analyses included 323 cases and age-matched controls who participated in the Korean Breast Cancer Study during 2001-2003 with complete dietary information. The vitamin A (P < 0.01) and α-tocopherol (P < 0.01) were associated with lower breast cancer risk as well as some water-soluble vitamins including vitamin B(2) (P = 0.01), vitamin C (P < 0.01), and folic acid (P = 0.02) intake. No five single nucleotide polymorphisms (ATM-5144A > T (rs228589), IVS21 + 1049T > C (rs664677), IVS33-55T > C (rs664982), IVS34+60G > A (rs664143), and 3393T > G (rs4585)) studied showed significant differences in their allele frequencies between the cases and controls. On the other hand, compared with the diploid of ATTGT/ATTGT, as the number of ATTGT haplotype decreased, the risk of breast cancer increased (P = 0.04). The association between ATM diplotype and the breast cancer risk was predominantly among women with low intake of antioxidant vitamins including vitamin A, vitamin C, and folic acid. This study suggested that some antioxidant vitamins intake may modify the effect of ATM diplotype on the breast cancer risk among Korean women.