Association of MET gene polymorphisms with breast cancer risk in Nigerian patients: a case–control study

Breast cancer (BC) is a major cause of cancer-related mortality among women worldwide. Genetic polymorphisms, such as those in the Mesenchymal Epithelial Transition factor (MET) proto-oncogene, may influence cancer risk and progression. This study aimed to evaluate the association between previously reported single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the MET gene, rs40239, rs1621, and rs41736, and the risk of breast cancer in Nigerian patients. 75 samples of DNA from buffy coats of patients with breast cancer and 75 healthy controls were collected and genotyped for MET rs40239, rs1621, and rs41736 polymorphisms using the TaqMan SNP assay. Our study has shown that none of the examined SNPs of the MET gene was associated with risk of breast cancer (OR = 4.706, 95% CI: 0.959–23.096, p = 0.062 for rs40239; OR = 1.188, 95% CI: 0.516–2.733, p = 0.426 for rs1621; OR = 0.954, 95% CI: 0.904–1.006, p = 0.262 for rs41736). Our findings suggest no statistically significant associations between the MET rs40239, rs1621, and rs41736 polymorphisms and breast cancer risk in the studied Nigerian population.