Polymorphisms of heat shock protein70-hom (Hsp70-hom) gene in Iraqi women with breast cancer

In the current study, we investigated the incidence of breast cancer and determined the most variable clinicopathological parameters in a cohort of female carcinoma patients from Baghdad. We also analyzed whether the heat-shock protein gene Hsp70-hom T/C (rs2227956) polymorphism is associated with susceptibility to developing breast cancer in Iraqi females. The Hsp70-hom polymorphism was analyzed using the Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (RFLP) technique in 90 breast cancer patients and 40 apparently healthy women as a control group. The results showed a significantly higher percentage of patients (60%) were over 50 years of age (P≤ 0.05). All patients (100%) in the study were diagnosed with Invasive Ductal Carcinoma (IND). The majority of cases (78%) were classified as Grade II (P≤ 0.05), and there was a notably higher incidence of the T2NM stage (60% or 54/90) (P≤ 0.05). No significant association was found between breast cancer and Lymph Node Metastasis (LNM). Regarding hormonal status, positive results were observed in 82% (74/90) and 70% (63/90) of patients for Estrogen Receptor (ER) and Progesterone Receptor (PR), respectively, although these findings lacked statistical significance. Furthermore, 90% of the breast cancer cases had the Hsp70-hom TT genotype in a homozygous state (compared to 80% in the control group), with an Odds Ratio (OR) of 0.85 (95% CI: 0.55-1.18) and a P-value of 0.259. These genetic findings indicate a negative risk association between the Hsp70-hom T/C (rs2227956) genotypes and the induction of breast cancer in Iraqi females.