Background: Breast cancer is the second most common cause of cancer death in women worldwide. Different epigenetic and genetic factors are associated with the development of breast cancer. Controversial results have been reported for oncogenic role of allelic polymorphism of the codon 72 of the p53 gene. Therefore, this study aimed to detect genotypic polymorphisms of p53 codon 72 in women with invasive ductal carcinoma in Sabzevar, Iran.

Materials and Methods: This case-control study was conducted on 160 samples, 80 cancerous patients and 80 matched healthy controls. DNA was amplified using the two pairs of specific primers of p53 codon 72. The genotype of the p53 gene was determined using electrophoresis.

Results: The mean age of the patients and healthy controls were 47.22±12.95 and 48.02± 12.48, respectively. The frequencies of the heterozygote argenine/proline in the cancerous samples and controls were 49 (30.6%) and 51(31.9%), respectively. The frequencies of the homozygote argenine/argenine genotype in the cancerous and healthy ones were 29 (18.1%) and 15(9.4%), respectively. The frequencies of the homozygote proline/proline genotype in the patients and controls were 2 (1.3%) and 14 (8.8%), respectively which showed a significant difference in this genotype between the two groups.

Conclusion: Results indicate that carcinogenesis of breast cancer can be affected by different genotypes of codon 72 of the p53 gene. Hence, the detection of the allelic polymorphisms of codon 72 of the p53 gene is a valuable tool for predicting progress, prognosis and treatment purposes.