Identification of two novel breast cancer loci through large-scale genome-wide association study in the Japanese population

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have successfully identified about 70 genomic loci associated with breast cancer. Owing to the complexity of linkage disequilibrium and environmental exposures in different populations, it is essential to perform regional GWAS for better risk prediction. This study aimed to investigate the genetic architecture and to assess common genetic risk model of breast cancer with 6,669 breast cancer patients and 21,930 female controls in the Japanese population. This GWAS identified 11 genomic loci that surpass genome-wide significance threshold of P < 5.0 × 10−8 with nine previously reported loci and two novel loci that include rs9862599 on 3q13.11 (ALCAM) and rs75286142 on 21q22.12 (CLIC6-RUNX1). Validation study was carried out with 981 breast cancer cases and 1,394 controls from the Aichi Cancer Center. Pathway analyses of GWAS signals identified association of dopamine receptor medicated signaling and protein amino acid deacetylation with breast cancer. Weighted genetic risk score showed that individuals who were categorized in the highest risk group are approximately 3.7 times more likely to develop breast cancer compared to individuals in the lowest risk group. This well-powered GWAS is a representative study to identify SNPs that are associated with breast cancer in the Japanese population.

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