Genetic variations and head and neck cancer risks.

Variations in CYP1A1, GSTM1, GSTT1 and GSTP1 in head and neck cancer have been frequently found in literature. But these studies give an overview of these genetic variations in different populations. The current mini review focus on the analysis of these genetic variations at DNA, mRNA and protein levels in the same study group. Eight publications were reviewed on the same study samples yielding results at DNA, mRNA and protein levels. At DNA level, CYP1A1 showed significantly higher mutations in head and neck cancer patients compared to controls at g.2842A>C and g.2842_2843insT. GSTM1 and GSTT1 showed deletion polymorphisms and heterozygous deletion confers protection against cancer. Mutations were also found in GSTP1 at g.2848A>T, g.2849G>A, g.1074delC and g.1466delC. mRNA and protein expressional analysis revealed underexpression of CYP1A1, loss or underexpression of GSTM1 and GSTT1 and overexpression of GSTP1. In addition an unusual intronic variant of GSTP1 mRNA was also found, retaining the intronic portion between exons. The current review gives a complete study overview regarding CYP1A1, GSTM1, GSTT1 and GSTP1 variations at DNA, mRNA and protein levels in head and neck cancer. The review is helpful in designing a new experiment or gene therapy for head and neck cancer patients.