Steroid hormones polymorphisms and cholelithiasis in Greek population.

Background: Genetic variation in genes involved in steroid biosynthesis, metabolism and signal transduction have been suggested to play a role in gallstone disease. Methods: To elucidate the possible role of genetic variation in the estrogen receptors α and β ( ER-α, ER-β) and androgen receptor ( AR) genes in breast cancer risk, the −1174(TA) _n, c.1092+3607(CA) _n and c.172(CAG) _n repeat polymorphisms of the three genes were studied. A case–control cohort of 99 patients with cholelithiasis and 179 controls were used. Results: No significant difference was observed in the frequency distribution of −1174(TA)_0–26 in the ER-α gene between patients and controls, while a significant difference was observed in the frequency distribution of repeat polymorphism c.1092+3607(CA)_5–27 and c.172(CAG)_5–32 in the ER-β gene and AR gene, respectively ( P≤0.0001 and P=0.05, respectively). A significant difference was observed in the repeat genotype distribution (SS, SL, LL) in the (CA) _n of the ER-β gene ( P<0.0001) and in the (CAG) _n of the AR gene ( P≤0.0001). A significantly decreased odds ratio for cholelithiasis risk was observed in individuals having the SL and LL genotype for ER-β gene compared with SS genotype (OR=0.212; 95% CI 0.105–0.426; P<0.0001 and OR=0.042; 95% CI 0.018–0.097, respectively) and LL genotype for AR gene (OR=0.622; 95% CI 0.345–1.121; P=0.114 and OR=0.287; 95% CI 0.151–0.543, P<0.0001, respectively). This protective effect of SL and LL genotypes for ER-β and LL for AR gene remained evident ( P<0.0001 for all of them) even after adjustment for various risk factors. Conclusions: In conclusion an association for cholelithiasis risk between short alleles for both c.1092+3607(CA)_5–27 and c.172(CAG)_5–32 repeat polymorphisms of the ER-β and AR was found in individuals of Greek descent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]