title: Genetic polymorphism of aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 in patients with upper aerodigestive tract cancer.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Alcohol consumption is one of the major risk factors of the upper aerodigestive tract (UADT) cancers, and combined cancers are frequently discovered in the patients with UADT cancer. The association between esophageal cancer and alcohol-related metabolizing enzymes is well studied, but only a few examinations about the association between head and neck cancer and the enzymes were performed.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fifty-two patients with UADT cancer (head and neck cancer in 25, esophageal cancer in 19, and multiple cancers in 8) were examined in the alcohol habit and in the polymorphisms of aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2) and cytochrome P-4502E1.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Patients with multiple cancers had significantly higher ethanol consumption than the other two groups (p < 0.001). The frequency of ALDH2*1/2*2 heterozygote was significantly lower (p = 0.009) in patients with head and neck cancer (5/25) than patients with esophageal cancer (11/19). The allele frequency of P-4502E1 did not show a significant difference between the groups (p = 0.700).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results demonstrated the difference in the frequency of ALDH2 heterozygote between the patients with esophageal cancer and patients with head and neck cancer.
authors.affiliation: Third Department of Internal Medicine, Asahikawa Medical College, Hokkaido, Japan.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tanabe
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ohhira
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ohtsubo
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Watari
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yokota
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kohgo
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000444:Aldehyde Dehydrogenase / Q000235:genetics*; D000071396:Aldehyde Dehydrogenase, Mitochondrial; D019392:Cytochrome P-450 CYP2E1 / Q000235:genetics; D004938:Esophageal Neoplasms / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics; D000431:Ethanol / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D005787:Gene Frequency; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012150:Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length; D012307:Risk Factors
chemical_list: D000431:Ethanol; D019392:Cytochrome P-450 CYP2E1; C096127:ALDH2 protein, human; D000444:Aldehyde Dehydrogenase; D000071396:Aldehyde Dehydrogenase, Mitochondrial