p73 G4C14-to-A4T14 polymorphisms are positively correlated with triple-negative breast cancer in southwestern China

p73 gene shares structural and functional similarities to p53 and plays an important role in modulating cell cycle arrest and apoptosis. A common non-coding polymorphism of p73 G4C14-to-A4T14 (rs2273953 and rs1801173) at exon 2 may affect gene expression, thus, it may lead to functional significance. The correlation of this polymorphism with clinicopathologic variables of patients with breast cancer has not been investigated. In this study, single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of p73 G4C14-to-A4T14 were genotyped by Sequenom MassArray-iPLEX GOLD System in 170 patients with breast cancer. Data were analyzed via t test, chi-square test, and logistic regression analysis. There was no significant correlation between p73 G4C14-to-A4T14 polymorphisms and the patient characteristics, such as clinical TNM stage, menopausal status, axillary lymph node metastasis, pathological type, estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2). No significant relationship was observed between the p73 G4C14-to-A4T14 polymorphism and p73 protein expression in cancer tissues. The frequency of GC/GC genotype in patients with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) was 78.9 %, that of patients with others was 57.6 %, and the difference had statistical significance (χ ²  = 5.74, P = 0.02). p73 G4C14-to-A4T14 polymorphisms were negatively correlated with chemosensitivity for anthracycline-based chemotherapy in breast cancer (P > 0.05). p73 G4C14-to-A4T14 polymorphisms are positively correlated with TNBC, and p73 gene may play a critical role in a novel therapeutic strategy to TNBC. Additional larger studies are required to test these hypotheses.