Our results may contribute to shed light on factors influencing MBC survival suggesting an important role for cigarette smoking and FGFR2rs2981582 variant, and provide clues for better patient management.
Compared to female breast cancer, IGF1-R and carbonic anhydrase 12 (CAXII) were more frequently and CD44v6, MET and FGFR2 less frequently expressed in male breast cancer.
By multivariate logistic regression models, we found a significant increased MBC risk for 3 SNPs, in particular, with codominant models, for rs2046210/ESR1 (OR = 1.71; 95 % CI: 1.43-2.05; p = 0.0001), rs3803662/TOX3 (OR = 1.59; 95 % CI: 1.32-1.92; p = 0.0001), and rs2981582/FGFR2 (OR = 1.26; 95 % CI: 1.05-1.50; p = 0.013).
Five SNPs showed a statistically significant association with male breast cancer: rs13387042 (2q35) (odds ratio (OR) = 1.30, p = 7.98×10⁻⁴), rs10941679 (5p12) (OR = 1.26, p = 0.007), rs9383938 (6q25.1) (OR = 1.39, p = 0.004), rs2981579 (FGFR2) (OR = 1.18, p = 0.03), and rs3803662 (TOX3) (OR = 1.48, p = 4.04×10⁻⁶).