title: Self-collection of oral epithelial cell DNA under instruction from epidemiologic interviewers.
abstract: Oral epithelial cells provide an easily accessible source of germline DNA. Two methods for collection were compared in a 1992-1995 case-control study of oral cancer in Puerto Rico. One group of subjects (55 controls without oral cancer) collected oral rinse samples at home or work under the direction of a nonmedically trained interviewer ("self-collection"); the other group (94 controls) participated in a clinic-based collection, which also included blood and urine samples, conducted by a medical technician ("clinic collection"). Participation was higher for self-collection (98.2%) than for clinic collection (70.7%) (p < 0.001). DNA yields ranged from 2.0 to 204.5 microg (median, 25.9 microg) and did not differ by collection method, although yields varied by interviewer among self-collected samples (p = 0.02). Success rates for polymerase chain reaction amplification of the ADH3, NAT1, and multiplex CYP1A1/GSTT1/GSTM1 genotyping assays ranged from 76.4% (NAT1) to 98.2% (ADH3) for self-collected samples and were similar to those for clinic-collected samples (87.2-97.9%). Failure to amplify was associated with low DNA content (p = 0.015). Similar results were observed among cases (91 self-collected, 66 clinic collected), except that DNA yields did not vary by interviewer and a larger fraction (10.2%) of samples contained less than 5 microg of DNA, perhaps because of disease-related oral impairment. Self-collection of oral epithelial DNA samples appears satisfactory and efficient for many epidemiologic studies.
authors.affiliation: Genetic Epidemiology Branch, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD 20892-7236, USA.
authors.forename: L C
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Harty
authors.forename: P G
authors.initials: PG
authors.lastname: Shields
authors.forename: D M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Winn
authors.forename: N E
authors.initials: NE
authors.lastname: Caporaso
authors.forename: R B
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Hayes
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D004247:DNA / Q000032:analysis*; D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000737:chemistry*; D005821:Genetic Techniques; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D017720:Molecular Epidemiology / Q000379:methods*; D009061:Mouth Mucosa / Q000166:cytology*; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis; D009067:Mouthwashes; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D013048:Specimen Handling / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D009067:Mouthwashes; D004247:DNA