Intercellular adhesion molecule-1 genetic markers (+241G/A and+469A/G) in Iranian women with breast cancer

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women, the second-most leading cause of women's death after lung cancer. ICAM-1 is a cell adhesion molecule that belongs to the Ig-super-family, with a glycoprotein structure playing a key role in leukocyte recruitment into inflammatory sites, as well as in leukocyte activation and effector function. Proteolytic cleavage of ICAM-1 results in the formation of a soluble form, sICAM-1, which is present in low-serum levels in healthy individuals but becomes elevated in inflammatory and malignant conditions. The ICAM1 gene is located on chromosome 19 and contains two well-known single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) of +241G/A (G241R) and +469A/G (K469E). In this study, the frequencies of the two polymorphisms were investigated in breast cancer patients and healthy individuals. For G241R, we selected 276 breast cancer patients and 235 healthy sex-matched controls, and for K469E, 264 patients and 200 healthy sex-matched controls were chosen. The results of this study show that the frequency of the GA genotype was significantly higher in breast cancer patients in comparison to the control group (P = 0.007). In addition, the frequency of the R allele was significantly higher in breast cancer patients compared to controls (P = 0.008). However, both the genotype and allele frequency of K469E did not differ significantly between patients and controls. A significant difference was observed in the frequency of genotype combination A/G (+241 G/A and +469 A/G, respectively) between patients and controls (6.2 vs. 2.2%; *P = 0.007). These findings indicate that individuals carrying the A allele of the ICAM1 gene as well as the A/G haplotype may have a higher risk of developing breast cancer. (C) 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.