Role of OGG1 Ser326Cys polymorphism and 8-oxoguanine DNA damage in risk assessment of squamous cell carcinoma of head and neck in North Indian population

Squamous cell carcinoma of head and neck (SCCHN), one of the leading cancers worldwide, is most prevalent in Indian sub-continent. The major risk factors involved are smoking and consumption of alcohol, since they provide high free radical generating environment. We studied 8-oxoguanine DNA-glycosylase (OGG1) Ser326Cys polymorphism in 278 SCCHN cases and 278 matched controls by PCR-RFLP and observed that the variant genotype Ser/Cys exhibited an enhanced risk of ～1.7 folds (OR=1.71, 95% CI=1.20-2.93) and Cys/Cys ～2.5 folds (OR=2.55, 95% CI=1.29-5.00). Furthermore, we found a significant increase in salivary cell 8-OHdG with respect to Ser/Cys and Cys/Cys genotypes of OGG1 in SCCHN cases, when compared to Ser/Ser and Ser/Cys genotypes of the control population. Our results demonstrate that Ser326Cys variant genotype is associated with an increased risk of SCCHN in north India. Ser326Cys variant genotype was found to accumulate more of 8-OHdG, which may serve as a biomarker for early diagnosis of SCCHN.