Results based on 124 cases of breast cancer and 97 controls from Taiwan suggest that the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP309) in the MDM2 gene promoter is associated with earlier onset and increased risk of breast cancer

Table 1 The general characteristics of breast cancer patients and healthy controls from Taiwanese women blood donors

Characteristics, n(%)^a	Cases	Control	p-value^b
Age (yrs)
Mean	53.3	38.7	< 0.0001
S.D.	9.62	15.2
Body mass index (BMI, kg/m ² )	24.09 ± 4.2	21.66 ± 3.13	< 0.0001
Breastfeeding
Yes	53 (42.7)	33 (34)	0.2794
No	71 (57.3)	64 (66)
High calorie intake
Yes	34 (27.4)	31 (32)	0.2786
No	90 (72.6)	66 (68)
Cardiovascular disease/diabetes
Yes	42 (33.9)	15 (15.5)	0.0019
No	82 (66.1)	82 (84.5)
Oral contraceptive pills usage
Yes	31 (25)	11 (11.3)	0.0202
No	93 (75)	86 (88.7)

a. Cases: n = 124; controls: n = 97. The percentages were shown in the parentheses
b. Age and BMI were determined by two-sample t tests; breastfeeding, high calorie intake, cardiovascular disease/diabetes, and oral contraceptive drugs usage were determined by chi-square tests.

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