Investigating the association of vascular endothelial growth factor polymorphisms with breast cancer: a Moroccan case-control study

The main mediator of breast cancer (BC) angiogenesis is the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). Variation of VEGF-A gene may influence the BC susceptibility. The present case–control study investigated the association of the four commonly studied single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) of VEGF-A, namely: −1154A/G (rs1570360), −2578C/A (rs699947), −634G/C (rs2010963) and −460T/C (rs833061) with BC susceptibility and aggressiveness in Moroccan women. After genomic DNA extraction, genotyping was performed by TaqMan SNP assays on 70 BC patients and 70 healthy women. The χ2 test was used to detect differences in the genotype frequencies of VEGF between the groups and to stratify genotypes by the clinico-pathological characteristics in patient’s group. Women carriers of −1154AG + AA and −2578AC + AA VEGF genotypes had a reduced risk to develop BC [p = 0.018, OR 2.25 95 % CI (1.14–4.42) and p = 0.022, OR 2.26 95 % CI (1.12–4.58), respectively]. Carriers of −460CT and CT + CC genotypes had also a reduced risk to develop BC [p = 0.045, OR 2.63 95 % CI (1.19–5.84) and p = 0.043, OR 2.12 95 % CI (1.01–4.43), respectively]. Moreover, the A−1154A−2578G−634C−460 haplotype seems to have a protective effect against BC risk [p = 0.007, OR 2.41 95 % CI (1.27–4.55)]. Stratification for BC patients according to clinico-pathological characteristics reveals no association with any of VEGF-A SNPs. In conclusion, the data indicated significant associations of VEGF −1154A/G, −2578C/A and −460T/C polymorphisms with BC susceptibility in Moroccan individuals. These VEGF-A polymorphisms can be useful as predisposing genetic markers for BC. Further larger-scale studies are necessary to confirm our finding.