Serefoglou Zoe, Yapijakis Christos, Nkenke Emeka, Vairaktaris Eleftherios
Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, University of Athens Medical School, Attikon Hospital, Rimini 1, GR-12462 Athens, Greece.
Oral Oncol. 2008 Dec;44(12):1093-9. doi: 10.1016/j.oraloncology.2008.02.012. Epub 2008 May 16.
Mutations in oncogenes or tumor suppressor genes, as well as environmental factors such as tobacco chewing or smoking, poor oral hygiene, ill-fitting dental appliances, infection by certain HPV types, or alcohol abuse, seem to be involved in the multifactorial process of carcinogenesis in head and neck. Recently, several genetic association studies have indicated that common DNA polymorphisms in low penetrance genes may affect the susceptibility of an individual to malignancy. Cytokines are an important group of proteins that regulate and mediate inflammation and angiogenesis. Tumor growth, invasion and metastasis are facilitated when there is a deregulation in their production. Cytokines include interleukins (ILs), tumor necrosis factors (TNFs) and certain growth factors (GFs). A number of genetic association studies have recently investigated the putative correlation between functional DNA polymorphisms in cytokine genes and head and neck carcinomas. This review discusses the findings of such studies in oral, nasopharyngeal and esophageal squamous cell carcinomas. Extensive research has indicated that functional polymorphisms affecting gene expression of IL-4,-6,-8,-10 as well as TNF-alpha are strongly associated with increased risk for oral cancer. Gene expression of TNF-alpha seems to be associated also with esophageal carcinomas, while for nasopharyngeal cancer the picture is yet unclear. It is generally believed that such genetic association studies will gradually increase our knowledge regarding the predisposed manifestation and advancement of these malignancies in the head and neck region.
致癌基因或肿瘤抑制基因的突变，以及诸如咀嚼烟草或吸烟、口腔卫生差、不合适的牙具、某些人乳头瘤病毒（HPV）类型感染或酗酒等环境因素，似乎都参与了头颈部癌症发生的多因素过程。最近，一些基因关联研究表明，低外显率基因中的常见DNA多态性可能影响个体对恶性肿瘤的易感性。细胞因子是一类重要的蛋白质，可调节和介导炎症及血管生成。当它们的产生失调时，肿瘤生长、侵袭和转移会得到促进。细胞因子包括白细胞介素（ILs）、肿瘤坏死因子（TNFs）和某些生长因子（GFs）。最近，一些基因关联研究调查了细胞因子基因中功能性DNA多态性与头颈部癌之间的假定相关性。本综述讨论了此类研究在口腔、鼻咽和食管鳞状细胞癌中的发现。广泛的研究表明，影响IL-4、-6、-8、-10以及TNF-α基因表达的功能性多态性与口腔癌风险增加密切相关。TNF-α的基因表达似乎也与食管癌有关，而对于鼻咽癌，情况尚不清楚。人们普遍认为，此类基因关联研究将逐渐增加我们对头颈部这些恶性肿瘤的易患表现和进展的认识。
