We hypothesised that this ABCC11 SNP may be associated with breast cancer risk because an association has been reported between wet earwax and increased risk of breast cancer.
We aimed to confirm/refute the association of the c.538G>A variant in ABCC11 with breast cancer risk and/or histo-pathological tumor characteristics in an independent population-based breast cancer case-control study from Germany comprising 1021 cases and 1015 age-matched controls.
On the other hand, the wild type (Gly180) of ABCC11 is associated with wet-type earwax, axillary osmidrosis, colostrum secretion from the mammary gland, and the potential susceptibility of breast cancer.
The ABCC11 SNPs that determine these phenotypes should be further investigated in order to obtain insights into the mechanisms by which breast cancer develops and progresses.
Our findings support the notion that expression of ABCC11 in ER-alpha-positive breast cancers may contribute to decreased sensitivity to chemotherapy combinations that include 5-FU.
The selective expression of MRP8 (ABCC11), a new member of ATP-binding cassette transporter superfamily could be a molecular target for the treatment of breast cancer.