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Predictive markers in elderly patients with estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer treated with aromatase inhibitors: an array-based pharmacogenetic study

Abstract

So far, no reliable predictive clinicopathological markers of response to aromatase inhibitors (AIs) have been identified, and little is known regarding the role played by host genetics. To identify constitutive predictive markers, an array-based association study was performed in a cohort of 55 elderly hormone-dependent breast cancer (BC) patients treated with third-generation AIs. The array used in this study interrogates variants in 225 drug metabolism and disposition genes with documented functional significance. Six variants emerged as associated with response to AIs: three located in ABCG1, UGT2A1, SLCO3A1 with a good response, two in SLCO3A1 and one in ABCC4 with a poor response. Variants in the AI target CYP19A1 resulted associated with a favourable response only as haplotype; haplotypes with increased response association were also detected for ABCG1 and SLCO3A1. These results highlight the relevance of host genetics in the response to AIs and represent a first step toward precision medicine for elderly BC patients.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by Italian Ministry of Health (Grant No. GR-2009-1606663), Veneto Region (Ricerca Sanitaria Finalizzata, Grant No. 317/10), Associazione Italiana per la Ricerca sul Cancro (AIRC, Ref. 14032)), MIUR 60% grant, IOV-IRCCS 5x1000 donation. This work was presented as a poster at the 2014 ASCO Annual Meeting (J Clin Oncol 2014; 32 (Suppl): 5s (abstract 11058)), and at the 23rd Biennial Congress of the European Association for Cancer Research (European Journal of Cancer 20154; 50 (Suppl 5): xxxiv–xxxv). ER was supported by IOV-IRCCS 5X1000 donation.

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Correspondence to E Rumiato.

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Supplementary Information accompanies the paper on the The Pharmacogenomics Journal website

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Rumiato, E., Brunello, A., Ahcene-Djaballah, S. et al. Predictive markers in elderly patients with estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer treated with aromatase inhibitors: an array-based pharmacogenetic study. Pharmacogenomics J 16, 525–529 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/tpj.2015.73

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