title: Tumor necrosis factor-alpha promoter polymorphism is associated with susceptibility to oral squamous cell carcinoma.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is one of the leading cancers in most Asian countries. Alterations of immune function have been detected in OSCC patients. The pro-inflammatory cytokine tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) is a central mediator of the immune response involved in a wide range of immuno-inflammatory and infectious diseases. Polymorphism of the TNF-alpha gene has been intensively studied as a potential determinant of susceptibility to numerous cancers.
  
  
  METHODS
  We genotyped 192 patients with OSCC and 146 healthy case controls by using polymerase chain reaction-double restriction fragment length polymorphism with amplification-created restriction sites to assess allelic determinants at the TNF-alpha polymorphic sites -308 and -238 in the promoter region. Genotype frequencies were evaluated with Fisher's test.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The -308 TNFG (tumor necrosis factor G) allele genotype was higher in patients with OSCC (91.2% vs. 82.2%; P = 0.02) and TNFG/A was lower (8.3% vs. 11.8%; P = 0.02); the -238 TNFG/A allele genotype was lower in patient with OSCC (2.1% vs. 6.9%; P = 0.02).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This is the first report that the TNF-alpha polymorphism is associated with the risk for OSCC in Taiwan.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Taipei Mackay Memorial Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Chung-Ji
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Yong-Kie
authors.initials: YK
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.forename: Kuo-Wei
authors.initials: KW
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: Hsiao-Ching
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: Hsin-Fu
authors.initials: HF
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Yann-Jinn
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D000225:Adenine; D000483:Alleles; D001483:Base Sequence; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000235:genetics*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D005787:Gene Frequency; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease / Q000235:genetics*; D005838:Genotype; D006147:Guanine; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic / Q000235:genetics*; D012150:Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic / Q000235:genetics*; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; D006147:Guanine; D000225:Adenine