Background: Vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGFA) is essential in tumour angiogenesis, and polymorphisms in the VEGFA gene have been associated with breast cancer prognosis. The human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) is overexpressed in breast tumours and is also associated with angiogenesis. We investigated the possible prognostic impact of VEGFA single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in patients with HER2-positive primary breast cancer.
Patients and methods: DNA was isolated from venous blood samples from 116 HER2-positive patients and genotyped for VEGFA -2578C>A, -1498T>C, -1154G>A, -634G>C, -7C>T and +936C>T SNPs using the TaqMan® SNP Genotyping Assay.
Results: The -2578C>A and -634G>C genotypes were associated with tumour size, p ≤ 0.014. In univariate analysis -2578CC, -634CC and -7CC genotypes were associated with inferior recurrence-free survival (p ≤ 0.028) but in cox multivariate analysis, only the -634CC genotype remained an independent prognostic factor (p=0.008).
Conclusion: The VEGFA -634CC genotype was found to be associated with an inferior prognosis for patients with HER2-positive breast cancer.