D Allele Frequency in Insertion/Deletion Polymorphism of the Angiotensin Converting Enzyme (ACE) Gene is Associated with Development of Breast Cancer Risk in Indian Women

Aims: Breast cancer is the second most common cancer in the world and, by far, the most frequent cancer among women. Scientific literature has hypothesized the association of ACE I/D polymorphism with breast cancer for several decades. Unfortunately the outcomes of studies are inconsistent. Thus the present study was designed to evaluate the association of ACE gene (I/D) polymorphism with breast cancer in Indian population. Methods: Genotyping was performed by PCR (polymerase chain reaction), using genomic DNA extracted from peripheral blood of subjects, with (213 cases) or without (213 controls) breast cancer. Findings: The distribution of ACE genotype frequencies i.e. II, DD and ID in patients was 43.19%, 16.43% and 40.38% respectively. In healthy control group II, DD and ID frequencies were 52.58%, 11.27% and 36.15% respectively. The frequencies of D and I alleles were 29.34% and 70.66% in the healthy subjects, while 36.62% and 63.38% among the patient group. Frequency of D allele was significantly different (p=0.0287) between control and case subjects. Significance: The present study showed an association of D allele of ACE gene with increased genetic risk factor for breast cancer in Indian women. 0.2% increased disease risk was found in patients carrying D allele.