Polymorphisms in the Promoter Regions of the Matrix Metalloproteinases-1, -3, -7, and -9 and the Risk of Epithelial Ovarian Cancer in China

Purpose: To investigate the association of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) in the promoter region of the matrix metalloproteinases-1 -1607bp1G/2G, matrix metalloproteinases-3 -1171bp5A/6A, matrix metalloproteinases-7 A-181G and matrix metalloproteinases-9 C-1562T with susceptibility to ovarian cancer in a population of North China.

Experimental Design: We analyzed four different functional promoter polymorphisms in the respective genes by polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) in a sample of patients with epithelium ovarian cancer and control women, all from North China.

Results: No significant difference was detected between the patient and control groups in genotype and allelotype distribution of MMP-1, MMP-3, MMP-9 of the polymorphisms studied. However, the genotype and allelotype of the MMP-7 distribution in ovarian cancer patients were significantly different from that in healthy controls. The frequency of the -181G allele of MMP-7 in patients was significantly higher than that in healthy controls women (8.2% vs. 2.8%, P = 0.002). Compared to the A/A genotype, the genotypes with the -181G allele (A/G + G/G) significantly increased susceptibility to ovarian cancer, with adjusted odds ratio [OR] = 3.53 95% confidence interval [CI] [1.58 to 7.89].

Conclusions: The study suggested that a possible association between the MMP-7 A/G polymorphism with susceptibility to epithelium ovarian cancer, but there is no support for an association of the selected MMP-1 1G/2G, MMP-3 5A/6A, and MMP-9 C/T polymorphisms with the risk for ovarian cancer.