Association between XRCC1 polymorphisms and head and neck cancer in a Hungarian population.

BACKGROUND Head and neck cancer is a significant current health problem in Hungary because the mortality of this cancer has increased by 387% in the last thirty-two years. Because of the important role of the XRCC1 gene in DNA repair, we wanted to test the effects of the Arg194Trp and Arg399Gln polymorphisms of XRCC1 on the clinical outcome of head and neck cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS A polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment lenght polmorphism (PCR-RFLP) method was used. A total of 108 samples were taken from intraoperatively removed formalin-fixed, and paraffin-embedded blocks of tissue. An age- and sex-matched cancer-free control group was used to compare the frequency of polymorph variants. RESULTS No significant difference was found between patients and controls in repect of the investigated polymorphisms. A significant difference was found between the patients with different XRCC1 194 polymorph status in clinical stage SIII. The survival proportion of patients with the Arg194Arg genotype was significantly lower than of those with the Arg194Trp genotype. CONCLUSION The complex analysis of these factors may provide the basis for personal risk assessment and an opportunity for individualised therapy.