Association study of NAT2 gene polymorphism and risk of oral cancer in Southern Punjab, Pakistan.

Objective To investigate the single nucleotide polymorphic variations of N-acetyltransferase 2, phase-II metabolising enzyme, and associated risk factors for oral cancer. Methods The case-control study was conducted from November 2017 to April 2018 after approval from the Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, Pakistan, and comprised oral cancer patients and healthy controls. Single nucleotide polymorphism of the N-acetyltransferase 2 gene associated with oral cancer was analysed. Factors assessed using tetra-primer amplification refractory mutation system polymerase chain reaction included age, smoking, naswar, betel leaves and nuts. Results Of the 201 subjects, 94(47%) were patients and 107(53%) were controls, while 108(54%) were aged 10-30 years. Single nucleotide polymorphism rs1208 of N-acetyltransferase 2 gene was primarily A803G and Lys268Arg, with allelic frequency of G/A. Age range 51-70 was significantly (p=0.00001) associated with the prevalence of oral cancer in terms of genotypic relationship with A803G. Substantial allelic association was found between the gene and oral cancer (p=0.006895). Smoking increased the cacner risk 7-fold (odds ratio: 7.0). Conclusions The genetic variant of N-acetyltransferase 2 rs1208 was found to be significantly associated with oral cancer progression and development of associated risk factors.