title: Mutations of the adenomatous polyposis coli gene in areca quid and tobacco-associated oral squamous cell carcinomas in Taiwan.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) gene mutations have been demonstrated not only in colorectal tumors but also in a variety of human cancers.
  
  
  METHODS
  To elucidate the possible roles of APC gene mutations in oral squamous cell carcinomas (OSCCs), we examined 40 untreated human primary OSCCs using polymerase chain reaction-single strand conformation polymorphism (PCR-SSCP) and DNA sequencing assays.
  
  
  RESULTS
  By screening nearly one-half of the coding region (codons 279-1673, including the MCR) of the APC gene, five missense mutations and a 1-base pair deletion were detected in five (12.5%) tumors, resulting in five amino-acid substitutions or a truncation of the APC protein. All patients with APC mutations were both areca quid chewers and tobacco smokers (P = 0.049).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results suggest that APC mutations may also contribute to the carcinogenesis of at least some OSCCs in Taiwan, especially for the users of areca quid and tobacco.
authors.affiliation: School of Dentistry, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Sang-Heng
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Kok
authors.forename: Jang-Jaer
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Hey-Chi
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Hsu
authors.forename: Chun-Pin
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Chiang
authors.forename: Ying-Shiung
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Kuo
authors.forename: Mark Yen-Ping
authors.initials: MY
authors.lastname: Kuo
mesh_terms: D025601:Adenomatous Polyposis Coli Protein / Q000235:genetics; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D019943:Amino Acid Substitution / Q000235:genetics; D001114:Areca / Q000009:adverse effects*; D020029:Base Pairing / Q000235:genetics; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000235:genetics*; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D003062:Codon / Q000235:genetics; D005091:Exons / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D016368:Frameshift Mutation / Q000235:genetics; D017353:Gene Deletion; D017491:Genes, APC; D006801:Humans; D019656:Loss of Heterozygosity; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics*; D009154:Mutation / Q000235:genetics*; D020125:Mutation, Missense / Q000235:genetics; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D018807:Polymorphism, Single-Stranded Conformational; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects*; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D013624:Taiwan
chemical_list: D025601:Adenomatous Polyposis Coli Protein; D003062:Codon