Background: The transforming growth factor beta-1 gene (TGFB1) is a plausible candidate for breast cancer susceptibility. The L10P variant of TGFB1 is associated with higher circulating levels and secretion of TGF-beta, and recent large-scale studies suggest strongly that this variant is associated with breast cancer risk in the general population.
Methods: To evaluate whether TGFB1 L10P also modifies the risk of breast cancer in BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation carriers, we undertook a multi-center study of 3,442 BRCA1 and 2,095 BRCA2 mutation carriers.
Results: We found no evidence of association between TGFB1 L10P and breast cancer risk in either BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation carriers. The per-allele HR for the L10P variant was 1.01 (95%CI: 0.92-1.11) in BRCA1 carriers and 0.92 (95%CI: 0.81-1.04) in BRCA2 mutation carriers.
Conclusions: These results do not support the hypothesis that TGFB1 L10P genotypes modify the risk of breast cancer in BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation carriers.