Methylenetetrahydrofolate Reductase (MTHFR) C677T and A1298C Variants, Folate Intake, and Susceptibility to Breast Cancer

Context: Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women, worldwide. Both genetic and environmental factors are involved in the risk of breast cancer. Folate is an essential nutrient that is involved in DNA synthesis, repair, and methylation. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in folate related genes, such as methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) C677T and A1298C are suitable candidates for investigation the role of these variants in susceptibility to breast cancer.
Evidence Acquisition: Using the relevant English language studies from the search engines, such as MEDLINE/PubMed, EMBASE, and Scopus from 2005 to 2016, the present review looks at the role of MTHFR C677T and A1298C variants, synergism between these gene variants along with folate intake in susceptibility to breast cancer.
It seems the MTHFR C677T polymorphism is associated with the risk of breast cancer among Asians but not in Caucasians. However, the MTHFR A1298C polymorphism might not be a susceptibility factor for breast cancer. The MTHFR haplotypes alone or along with low dietary intake of folate were not involved in susceptibility to breast cancer.
Association between MTHFR C677T polymorphism with the risk of breast cancer could be attributed to the lower activity of the MTHFR enzyme in the presence of 677T allele with reduced availability of folate that may result in uracil misincorporation in the DNA and cancer development. The absence of establishment of a role for MTHFR haplotypes and a synergism between low dietary intake of folate along with MTHFR polymorphisms in susceptibility to breast cancer might be due to differences in allelic frequency of MTHFR variants in various populations, stage of cancer, the familial and early onset cancer, and the influence of environmental factors. To establish the role of MTHFR haplotypes in relation to folate intake in susceptibility to breast cancer, more studies with adequate sample size that investigate the role of MTHFR gene polymorphisms along with dietary intake of folate in the risk of breast cancer are necessary.