Association between CYP3A4 genotype and risk of endometrial cancer following tamoxifen use

Tamoxifen is a selective estrogen receptor modulator that is used to treat and to prevent breast cancer; however, its use is associated with an increased risk of endometrial cancer. Tamoxifen is metabolized by various cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes, but predominantly by CYP3A4. In this study, we examined whether a genetic variant of the CYP3A4 gene, CYP3A4*1B, influences endometrial cancer risk--alone and when associated with tamoxifen exposure. We conducted a case-control study on 566 endometrial cancer cases and 964 ethnically matched controls. The variant CYP3A4 allele was present in 6% of the controls and 9% of the endometrial cancer patients (OR = 1.6, 95% CI = 1.1-2.3, P = 0.02). The allele was more common in women with endometrial cancer who had been treated with tamoxifen for breast cancer (16%). Women who carried the CYP3A4*1B allele had approximately 3-fold increase in the risk of developing endometrial cancer following tamoxifen treatment, compared with women who did not take tamoxifen (P = 0.004). These findings suggest that a subgroup of breast cancer patients who carry the CYP3A4*1B allele and take tamoxifen may be at increased risk of developing endometrial cancer.