Identification of 31 loci for mammographic density phenotypes and their associations with breast cancer risk

Weiva Sieh, Joseph H. Rothstein, Robert J. Klein, Stacey E. Alexeeff, Lori C. Sakoda, Eric Jorgenson, Russell B. McBride, Rebecca E. Graff, Valerie McGuire, Ninah Achacoso, Luana Acton, Rhea Y. Liang, Jafi A. Lipson, Daniel L. Rubin, Martin J. Yaffe, Douglas F. Easton, Catherine Schaefer, Neil Risch, Alice S. Whittemore, Laurel A. Habel

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29 Scopus citations

Abstract

Mammographic density (MD) phenotypes are strongly associated with breast cancer risk and highly heritable. In this GWAS meta-analysis of 24,192 women, we identify 31 MD loci at P < 5 × 10−8, tripling the number known to 46. Seventeen identified MD loci also are associated with breast cancer risk in an independent meta-analysis (P < 0.05). Mendelian randomization analyses show that genetic estimates of dense area (DA), nondense area (NDA), and percent density (PD) are all significantly associated with breast cancer risk (P < 0.05). Pathway analyses reveal distinct biological processes involving DA, NDA and PD loci. These findings provide additional insights into the genetic basis of MD phenotypes and their associations with breast cancer risk.

Original languageEnglish
Article number5116
JournalNature Communications
Volume11
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Dec 2020

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