Objective: To ascertain whether the point mutation of cDNA609 C to T of quinone oxidoreductase (NQO1) gene is associated with the genetic susceptibility to nasopharyngeal carcinoma.
Methods: Polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism was employed to assess the polymorphism of NQO1 genes both in 120 patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma and 120 healthy subjects matched for age, gender and origin.
Results: The allelic frequency of mutant T allele of NQO1 gene was significantly higher in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma than in the healthy subjects (P<0.05), and the individuals with T allelic genotype of NQO1 gene were at greater risk to develop nasopharyngeal carcinoma.
Conclusion: The cDNA 609 T allele of NQO1 gene is very likely to be associated with the genetic susceptibility to nasopharyngeal carcinoma.