Association between the DNA repair gene polymorphism and head and neck cancer susceptibility

Abstract

Previous data regarding association between DNA repair gene polymorphisms and the risk of hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinomas (HPSCC) have shown controversial results. The current study aims to achieve a more accurate estimation of the association between four polymorphisms in DNA repair genes (ERCC1, XPD312, XPD751, XRCC1) and the risk of HPSCC. Genotyping was carried out by polymerase chain reaction using the restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) technique. The odds ratios (ORs) and p value were calculated using statistical analyses. The distribution of DNA repair gene polymorphism in the HPSCC group did not differ from that in the control group. The XRCC1 G/A ＋ A/A genotype group developed distant metastasis of HPSCC (23.2%) less frequently in comparison to the G/G group (41%). In Japan, especially, in the Okinawa region, the mutant allele frequency of XPD312 (2.4%) and XPD751 (3.2%) gene polymorphism were lower in comparison to Europe (36%, 36%) and the United States (20%, 21%), respectively.