title: Association Studies of HFE C282Y and H63D Variants with Oral Cancer Risk and Iron Homeostasis Among Whites and Blacks.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Polymorphisms in the hemochromatosis (HFE) gene are associated with excessive iron absorption from the diet, and pro-oxidant effects of iron accumulation are thought to be a risk factor for several types of cancer.
  
  
  METHODS
  The C282Y (rs1800562) and H63D (rs1799945) polymorphisms were genotyped in 301 oral cancer cases and 437 controls and analyzed in relation to oral cancer risk, and serum iron biomarker levels from a subset of 130 subjects.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Individuals with the C282Y allele had lower total iron binding capacity (TIBC) (321.2 ± 37.2 µg/dL vs. 397.7 ± 89.0 µg/dL, p = 0.007) and higher percent transferrin saturation (22.0 ± 8.7 vs. 35.6 ± 22.9, p = 0.023) than wild type individuals. Iron and ferritin levels approached significantly higher levels for the C282Y allele (p = 0.0632 and p = 0.0588, respectively).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Iron biomarker levels were elevated by the C282Y allele, but neither (rs1800562) nor (rs1799945) was associated with oral cancer risk in blacks and whites.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, Penn State University College of Medicine, Hershey, PA 17033, USA. nathan_jones8506@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Nathan R
authors.initials: NR
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Washington State University, Spokane, WA 99202, USA. joe.ashmore@wsu.edu.
authors.forename: Joseph H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Ashmore
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Penn State University College of Medicine, Hershey, PA 17033, USA. SYL3@psu.edu.
authors.forename: Sang Y
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health Sciences, Penn State University College of Medicine, 500 University Drive, CH69, Hershey, PA 17033, USA. jrichie@hmc.psu.edu.
authors.forename: John P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Richie
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, Penn State University College of Medicine, Hershey, PA 17033, USA. phil.lazarus@wsu.edu.|Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Washington State University, Spokane, WA 99202, USA. phil.lazarus@wsu.edu.
authors.forename: Philip
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Lazarus
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health Sciences, Penn State University College of Medicine, 500 University Drive, CH69, Hershey, PA 17033, USA. jmuscat@hmc.psu.edu.
authors.forename: Joshua E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Muscat
keywords: Black; HFE; SNP; White; genotyping; iron homeostasis; oral cancer