The p53 Codon 72 Polymorphism and the Risk of Oral Cancer in a Chinese Han Population

Abstract

The p53 codon 72 polymorphism has been investigated extensively for its association with various cancers around the world. It is still unclear whether the p53 codon 72 polymorphism is associated with oral cancer risk. The aim of our study was to evaluate the association between the p53 codon 72 polymorphism and the oral cancer risk in Chinese Han patients. A hospital-based case-control study with 200 patients with oral cancer and 200 matched controls was conducted. Genomic DNA was isolated from peripheral blood, and gene polymorphisms were analyzed by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism. The arginine (Arg)/Arg genotype conferred 0.57 times reduced risk to oral cancer (95% confidence interval [CI]=0.36, 0.89; p=0.01). The Arg allele frequency was significantly lower (odds ratios [OR]=0.74, 95% CI=0.56, 0.98; p=0.03) in comparison with controls in patients with oral cancer. The proline allele frequency was significantly higher (OR=1.35, 95% CI=1.02, 1.79; p=0.03) in comparison with controls in patients with oral cancer. When stratified by the clinical stage, lymph node metastasis, and histological differentiation of oral cancer, no statistically significant results were observed. Our results thus suggest that the p53 codon 72 polymorphism modulates susceptibility to oral cancer in Chinese Han patients.