Genetic Polymorphisms of Alcohol Dehydrogense-1B and Aldehyde Dehydrogenase-2, Alcohol Flushing, Mean Corpuscular Volume, and Aerodigestive Tract Neoplasia in Japanese Drinkers

Genetic polymorphisms of alcohol dehydrogenase-1B (ADH1B) and aldehyde dehydrogenase-2 (ALDH2) modulate exposure levels to ethanol/acetaldehyde. Endoscopic screening of 6,014 Japanese alcoholics yielded high detection rates of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC; 4.1 %) and head and neck SCC (1.0 %). The risks of upper aerodigestive tract SCC/dysplasia, especially of multiple SCC/dysplasia, were increased in a multiplicative fashion by the presence of a combination of slow-metabolizing ADH1B*1/*1 and inactive heterozygous ALDH2*1/*2 because of prolonged exposure to higher concentrations of ethanol/acetaldehyde. A questionnaire asking about current and past facial flushing after drinking a glass (approximate to 180 mL) of beer is a reliable tool for detecting the presence of inactive ALDH2. We invented a health-risk appraisal (HRA) model including the flushing questionnaire and drinking, smoking, and dietary habits. Esophageal SCC was detected at a high rate by endoscopic mass-screening in high HRA score persons. A total of 5.0 % of 4,879 alcoholics had a history of (4.0 %) or newly diagnosed (1.0 %) gastric cancer. Their high frequency of a history of gastric cancer is partly explained by gastrectomy being a risk factor for alcoholism because of altered ethanol metabolism, e.g., by blood ethanol level overshooting. The combination of H. pylori associated atrophic gastritis and ALDH2*1/*2 showed the greatest risk of gastric cancer in alcoholics. High detection rates of advanced colorectal adenoma/carcinoma were found in alcoholics, 15.7 % of 744 immunochemical fecal occult blood test (IFOBT)-negative alcoholics and 31.5 % of the 393 IFOBT-positive alcoholics. Macrocytosis with an MCV >= 106 fl increased the risk of neoplasia in the entire aerodigestive tract of alcoholics, suggesting that poor nutrition as well as ethanol/acetaldehyde exposure plays an important role in neoplasia.