The effect of genetic polymorphisms in the TGF-␤1 gene at codon 10 (T؉29C), codon 25 (G؉74C), and the promoter region [C 3 T at ؊509 from the transcription site, (C-509T)] on breast cancer survival was evaluated among a cohort of 1111 patients. The median follow-up time for the cohort was 5.17 years after cancer diagnosis. No DNA sequence variation at codon 25 of the TGF-␤1 gene was found, whereas polymorphisms in C-509T and T؉29C were in strong linkage disequilibrium. Patients who carried the

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... allele of T؉29C polymorphism had a reduced 5-year disease-free survival rate (75.6% for T/C, and 78.2% for C/C) compared with the T/T genotype (85.1%; P, 0.04); the age-adjusted hazard ratio was 1.5 (95% confidence interval, 1.1-2.2). Adjustment for clinical prognostic factors slightly attenuated the association (hazard ratio, 1.4, 95% confidence interval, 1.0 -1.9). Our study suggests that genetic polymorphisms in the TGF-␤1 gene may play a role in breast cancer progression.