This is the first study to show that the association between alcohol drinking and HNC risk may be modified by the interplay between genetic polymorphisms of ADH1B and ALDH2 and oral hygiene.
An increased risk for HNC was also associated reported for P53 codon 72 Pro/Pro, ALDH2 and three variants of the ADH gene: ADH1B (rs1229984), ADH7 (rs1573496) and ADH1C (rs698).
Multiple regression analyses showed that individuals with the mutant genotype ADH1BArg(48)His who consume alcohol >30 g/L/day have more than four times the risk for HNC (OR = 4.42; 95% CI, 1.21-16.11).
Possession of the fast metabolizing alleles for alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH), ADH1B*2 and ADH1C*1, and the null allele for aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH), ALDH2*2, results in increased acetylaldehyde levels and is hypothesized to increase the risk of head and neck cancer.