Genetic polymorphisms in key DNA repair genes and risk of head and neck cancer in a Chinese population

Although tobacco and alcohol consumption are the major risk factors of head and neck cancer (HNC), genetic variations of genes involved in several biological pathways, such as DNA repair genes, may affect an individual's susceptibility to HNC. However, few studies have investigated the associations between polymorphisms in DNA repair genes and HNC risk in the Chinese population. Thus, we genotyped five common, non-synonymous single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) [APEXI (Asp148Glu), XRCCI (Arg399Gln), ADPRT (Val762Ala), XPD (Lys751Gln) and XPG (His1104Asp)] in a hospital-based, case-control study of 397 HNC cases and 900 cancer-free controls in China. The results showed that none of the five SNPs in the DNA repair pathway was significantly associated with HNC risk, suggesting that these polymorphisms may not play a major role in HNC susceptibility in this Chinese population.