No association between P53 codon 72 polymorphism and risk of squamous cellcarcinoma of the head and neck

An initial report suggested that patients homozygous for the arginine allel e at codon 72 of P53 were at increased risk for human papillomavirus (HPV)- related cervical cancer, but other groups have not confirmed this finding. Since approximately 18-36% of head and neck cancers are HPV-related, we exa mined the genotypic frequencies at that locus in 163 cases with squamous ce ll carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN) and 163 ethnically matched contro ls. We found no significant excess of arginine homozygotes in cases compare d to controls (P = 0.50), No significant differences in allele frequencies were observed when the data were stratified by tobacco exposure or by cance r site. These findings suggest a limited role, ii any, for this P53 polymor phism in SCCHN. (C) 2000 Cancer Research Campaign.