Genetic variation in progesterone receptor gene and ovarian cancer risk: A case control study.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies examined the association of genetic variation in progesterone receptor (PR) gene (PGR) with ovarian cancer, possibly by altering the expression of PR-B isoform, but with mixed outcome. OBJECTIVE: This study evaluated the association of PGR variants with ovarian cancer and associated features. METHODS: This was a retrospective case-control study, which involved 82 women with ovarian cancer and 95 cancer-free women who served as controls. Genotyping was done by Taqman® SNP genotyping by qRT-PCR. The PGR variants tested were rs471767 (A > G), rs590688 (G > C), and rs10895068 (G > A). Stratification analyses were used for testing the correlation between the PGR variants with ovarian cancer susceptibility according to menstruation status, FIGO classification, pathological grade, and chemotherapy. RESULTS: Significantly lower minor allele frequency (MAF) of rs10895068 was seen among ovarian cancer patients, thereby imparting disease protective nature to this variant. Significant association of rs10895068 genotypes with ovarian cancer was seen under the dominant model, but not other genetic models. FIGO classification correlated positively with rs471767 and rs10895068, while rs10895068 correlated positively with lymph node positivity. Three-locus haplotype analysis identified ACA and HCG haplotypes to be negatively associated with the risk of ovarian cancer. CONCLUSIONS: This report confirms the contribution of PGR variants, specifically the rs10895068 (+331G/A) the etiology of ovarian cancer.

The high-molecular weight multimer form of adiponectin is a useful marker of polycystic ovary syndrome in Bahraini Arab women.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: We tested if decreased total and high molecular weight (HMW)-adiponectin, and altered HMW/total adiponectin ratio (HMWR) constitute reliable markers of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) among Bahraini Arab women. METHODS: Case-control study involving 122 Bahraini Arab women with PCOS and 89 ethnically-matched control women. PCOS was evaluated according to 2003 Rotterdam criteria. Total and HMW-adiponectin were measured by ELISA. RESULTS: Compared to controls, women with PCOS had significantly reduced plasma HMW-adiponectin, and HMWR, more so than total adiponectin. Logistic regression analysis revealed that HMW-adiponectin and HMWR, more than total adiponectin, were negatively associated with PCOS. ROC area-under-the-curve for predicting PCOS were larger for HMW-adiponectin (0.679 ± 0.037), and HMWR (0.653 ± 0.039), than total adiponectin (0.537 ± 0.041). Regression analysis confirmed the association of low HMW-adiponectin and HMWR with PCOS. HMW-adiponectin and HMWR inversely correlated with age, BMI, hirsutism, insulin, HOMA-IR, and positively correlated with serum LDL-cholesterol. Total adiponectin was negatively correlated with waist-hip ratio and serum LH levels. CONCLUSIONS: Reduction in adiponectin plasma levels is an independent risk factor for PCOS. Changes in HMW-adiponectin serum levels and HMW/total adiponectin ratio are better markers for the presence of PCOS, when compared with total adiponectin.