A new study shows that common mutations in genes that regulate estrogen metabolism are not associated with breast cancer risk. The research was published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

Several studies have suggested that circulating levels of sex hormones, particularly estrogen, are associated with breast cancer risk, but it is not clear whether changes in the genes that control these levels are associated with breast cancer risk.

Alison M. Dunning, Ph.D., of Cancer Research UK in Cambridge, England, and colleagues looked at common variations, called single nucleotide polymorphisms or SNPs, in genes that regulate estrogen metabolism. They found SNPs in two genes that affected estrogen metabolism. However, there was no association between the common variations in the genes and breast cancer risk.

SOURCE:
Journal of the National Cancer Institute, June 16, 2004