We analysed the association of a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the gene encoding the IL‐12 subunit p40 (IL12B, rs3212227, A>C) with breast cancer. The SNPs allelic and genotypic frequencies were compared between patients (n = 191) and healthy (n = 194) women in a case–control study from Croatia. The major allele (A) was associated with susceptibility to breast cancer (P = 0.003; OR = 1.67; 95% CI: 1.17–2.38). Likewise, the minor allele (C) was significantly correlated with protection (P = 0.003; OR = 0.60; 95% CI: 0.42–0.86). At the genotype level, AA homozygosity was significantly associated with predisposition to disease (P = 0.013; OR = 1.68, 95% CI: 1.09–2.59), whereas the minor allele homozygosity (CC) was correlated with protection to disease (P = 0.020, OR = 0.28, 95% CI: 0.09–0.91). The heterozygous genotype showed no significant correlation with disease. The product of the IL12B gene (IL‐12 p40) can either form a homodimeric cytokine or be part of two pro‐inflammatory (IL‐12 and IL‐23) cytokines. It is presently unclear whether the major allele is associated with higher or lower protein levels of IL‐12 p40 and IL‐12 p70, which are critical in inflammation and adaptive immune responses. However, as the A allele is high producer of IL12B (p40) mRNA, these results might imply that higher levels of IL‐12 p40 (either as homodimers or joined with one or both of the other two subunits) predispose to breast cancer.

No abstract

The aim of this study was to analyze the concentration of anti-p53 antibodies in the serum of breast cancer patients and to correlate these results with various clinical, pathological and biochemical parameters. We also wanted to assess the prognostic significance of these antibodies in our patients. Sera from 61 patients with breast cancer and 20 individuals without malignancies were analyzed using enzyme-linked immunoadsorbent assay. High levels of anti-p53 antibodies were detected in twenty-one (35%) breast cancer patients and one control (5%). The difference was statistically significant. We observed an inverse relationship between the anti-p53 antibodies and the age of the patients. We found significant association of anti-p53 antibodies with tumor size, histological grade of the tumors and the number of axillary lymph nodes involved. The levels of anti-p53 antibodies were higher in patients with negative estrogen and progesterone receptors in comparison with patients with positive steroid receptors, but the difference was not statistically significant. No relation was observed between anti-p53 antibodies neither with the Cathepsin D levels in the cytosol nor with the HER-2/neu extracellular domain in the serum. Patients with primary tumors and higher levels of anti-p53 antibodies had shorter 5-year survival than patients with lower levels of anti-p53 antibodies. Our results support the role of anti-p53 antibodies as a biomarker of less favorable phenotype as well as a prognostic factor for patients with breast cancer.