Lack of association of ADH1C genotype with breast cancer susceptibility in Caucasian population: a pooled analysis of case-control studies

Purpose: Recent epidemiological studies demonstrated that alcohol dehydrogenase 1C (ADH1C) alleles that result in acetaldehyde accumulation in the cells can enhance a drinker's risk of developing alcohol related cancer in a variety of tissues. The published data on the association between ADH1C alleles and breast cancer occurrence in Caucasians have led to in contradictory results. This meta-analysis of literatures was performed to derive a more precise estimation of the relationship.

Methods: A total of 12 studies were identified to the meta-analysis, including 6159 cases and 5732 controls from Caucasians. The pooled odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) for breast cancer risk associated with ADH1C genotype was estimated.

Results: Overall, no significantly elevated breast cancer risk was found in all genetic models when all studies were pooled into the meta-analysis (ADH1C(1-2) vs. ADH1C(2-2): OR 1.07, 95% CI 0.97-1.19; ADH1C(1-1) vs. ADH1C(2-2): OR 1.16, 95% CI 0.94-1.43; dominant model: OR 1.07, 95% CI 0.97-1.18; recessive model: OR 1.06, 95% CI 0.93-1.20). There was no evidence for the association between ADH1C genotype and breast cancer risk in subgroup analyses based on design of experiment and menopausal status. And for the additive model, individuals carrying the ADH1C*(1) allele were not significantly associated with increased risk to breast cancer (OR 1.01, 95% CI 0.97-1.06).

Conclusion: This meta-analysis suggests that ADH1C polymorphism may not be associated with breast cancer development in Caucasians. And larger scale primary studies are required to further evaluate the interaction of ADH1C polymorphism and breast cancer risk in specific populations.