Role of L-MYC polymorphism in oral squamous cell carcinoma in Turkey.
BACKGROUND
An association between restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) of known oncogenes and a predisposition to develop cancer has been postulated. Our aim was to test the hypothesis that there was an association between the L-MYC S allele in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) and a predisposition for the disease.


METHODS
The distribution of L-MYC polymorphism in 80 patients with OSCC was determined by polymerase chain reaction-based RFLP and compared with that of 60 healthy controls.


RESULTS
There was no significant difference between patients with OSCC and healthy controls. Patients with the L-MYC S allele and a positive family history of cancer were found to be 1.74 times more at risk for OSCC than those with any other genotype (95% confidence interval=0.88-3.45). Moreover, tumor recurrence was higher among individuals carrying a L-MYC S allele than those with any other allele type.


CONCLUSIONS
L-MYC polymorphism was not a significant marker for predicting susceptibility to OSCC in this population but may be a useful marker for identifying patient susceptibility to tumor recurrence and to developing OSCC, especially in individuals having a family history of cancer.
Bektas-Kayhan
Kivanç
K
Department of Oral Surgery and Medicine, Faculty of Dentistry, Istanbul University, Capa/Istanbul, Turkey. bektask76@yahoo.com
Unür
Meral
M
Yaylim-Eraltan
Ilhan
I
Ergen
Arzu
A
Hafiz
Günter
G
Karadeniz
Ahmet
A
Isbir
Turgay
T
D000328:Adult; D001483:Base Sequence; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000235:genetics*; D017931:DNA Primers; D005260:Female; D016259:Genes, myc; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012150:Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length; D014421:Turkey
D017931:DNA Primers