Pretreatment dietary intake is associated with tumor suppressor DNA methylation in head and neck squamous cell carcinomas.
Diet is associated with cancer prognosis, including head and neck cancer (HNC), and has been hypothesized to influence epigenetic state by determining the availability of functional groups involved in the modification of DNA and histone proteins. The goal of this study was to describe the association between pretreatment diet and HNC tumor DNA methylation. Information on usual pretreatment food and nutrient intake was estimated via food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) on 49 HNC cases. Tumor DNA methylation patterns were assessed using the Illumina Goldengate Methylation Cancer Panel. First, a methylation score, the sum of individual hypermethylated tumor suppressor associated CpG sites, was calculated and associated with dietary intake of micronutrients involved in one-carbon metabolism and antioxidant activity, and food groups abundant in these nutrients. Second, gene specific analyses using linear modeling with empirical Bayesian variance estimation were conducted to identify if methylation at individual CpG sites was associated with diet. All models were controlled for age, sex, smoking, alcohol and HPV status. Individuals reporting in the highest quartile of folate, vitamin B12 and vitamin A intake, compared with those in the lowest quartile, showed significantly less tumor suppressor gene methylation, as did patients reporting the highest cruciferous vegetable intake. Gene specific analyses identified differential associations between DNA methylation and vitamin B12 and vitamin A intake when stratifying by HPV status. These preliminary results suggest that intake of folate, vitamin A and vitamin B12 may be associated with the tumor DNA methylation profile in HNC and enhance tumor suppression.
Department of Environmental Health Sciences, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
Justin A
JA
Colacino
Anna E
AE
Arthur
Dana C
DC
Dolinoy
Maureen A
MA
Sartor
Sonia A
SA
Duffy
Douglas B
DB
Chepeha
Carol R
CR
Bradford
Heather M
HM
Walline
Jonathan B
JB
McHugh
Nisha
N
D'Silva
Thomas E
TE
Carey
Gregory T
GT
Wolf
Jeremy M G
JM
Taylor
Karen E
KE
Peterson
Laura S
LS
Rozek
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics*; D018899:CpG Islands; D019175:DNA Methylation / Q000187:drug effects*; D004032:Diet; D004034:Diet Surveys; D005260:Female; D016147:Genes, Tumor Suppressor; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D000077195:Squamous Cell Carcinoma of Head and Neck; D014801:Vitamin A / Q000494:pharmacology; D014805:Vitamin B 12 / Q000494:pharmacology; D014815:Vitamins / Q000494:pharmacology
D014815:Vitamins; D014801:Vitamin A; D014805:Vitamin B 12