Correlates of mutagen sensitivity in patients with upper aerodigestive tract cancer

• Published in: Cancer epidemiology, biomarkers & prevention biomarkers & prevention, 1997-09, Vol.6 (9), p.687
• Main Authors: Spitz, M R, McPherson, R S, Jiang, H, Hsu, T C, Trizna, Z, Lee, J J, Lippman, S M, Khuri, F R, Steffen-Batey, L, Chamberlain, R M, Schantz, S P, Hong, W K
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Alcohol Drinking; Antineoplastic Agents - therapeutic use; Antioxidants; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell - epidemiology; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell - genetics; Diet; Female; Genetic Predisposition to Disease; Head and Neck Neoplasms - epidemiology; Head and Neck Neoplasms - genetics; Humans; Logistic Models; Male; Middle Aged; Mutagenesis; Mutagenicity Tests; Neoplasms, Second Primary - prevention & control; Risk Factors; Smoking; Tretinoin - therapeutic use
• ISSN: 1055-9965; 1538-7755

Although tobacco and alcohol use are the major determinants of upper aerodigestive tract carcinogenesis, not all smokers develop cancer. This phenomenon is due to individual variation in genetic susceptibility to carcinogens. One explanation may be differences in mutagen sensitivity (as measured by the in vitro bleomycin-induced mutagen sensitivity assay) in patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the upper aerodigestive tract. Antioxidant supplementation has also been shown to decrease DNA damage and thus may also inhibit carcinogenesis. In this study, we examined whether smoking, alcohol intake, and dietary antioxidant intake were correlated with mutagen sensitivity. The 612 patients evaluated are part of an ongoing multicenter Phase III trial of 13-cis retinoic acid for the prevention of second primary tumors. We found that patients with pharyngeal cancers were more likely than patients with oral cavity or larynx cancers to be mutagen sensitive. There were no significant differences in the distribution of mutagen sensitivity by sex or alcohol use. Never smokers were significantly more likely (61.1%) to be mutagen sensitive than current smokers (35.6%). Dietary consumption of the micronutrients alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, lutein, lycopene, and vitamin C was not correlated with mutagen sensitivity. Therefore, we suggest that mutagen sensitivity is an independent marker of cancer risk not affected by other known risk factors.