Published online Jul 15, 2003. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v9.i7.1390
Revised: January 4, 2003
Accepted: February 11, 2003
Published online: July 15, 2003
AIM: To investigate the association of the NQO1 (C609T) polymorphism with susceptibility to esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) and gastric cardiac adenocarcinoma (GCA) in North China.
METHODS: The NQO1 C609T genotypes were determined by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) analysis in 317 cancer patients (193 ESCC and 124 GCA) and 165 unrelated healthy controls.
RESULTS: The NQO1 C609T C/C, C/T and T/T genotype frequency among healthy controls was 31.5%, 52.1% and 16.4% respectively. The NQO1 T/T genotype frequency among ESCC patients (25.9%) was significantly higher than that among healthy controls (χ2 = 4.79, P = 0.028). The NQO1 T/T genotype significantly increased the risk for developing ESCC compared with the combination of C/C and C/T genotypes, with an age, sex and smoking status adjusted odds ratio (OR) of 1.78 (1.04-2.98). This increased susceptibility was pronounced in ESCC patients with family histories of upper gastrointestinal cancers (UGIC) (adjusted OR = 2.20, 95%CI: 1.18-3.98). Similarly, the susceptibility of the NQO1 T/T genotype to GCA development was also observed among patients with family histories of UGIC, with an adjusted odds ratio of 2.55 (95%CI: 1.21-5.23), whereas no difference in NQO1 genotype distribution was shown among patients without family histories of UGIC.
CONCLUSION: Determination of the NQO1 C609T genotype may be used as a stratification marker to predicate the individuals at high risk for developing ESCC and GCA in North China.