MMP-2 and MMP-9 gene polymorphisms and risk of head and neck carcinomas

Abstract Background: Head and neck carcinomas (HNC) account for a majority of ear, nose and throat tumours. They account for 6.3% of all incident malignancies and 6.2 % of all deaths from cancer in Romania in 2020, the fifth most common cancer in this Eastern Europe country. Aim of the study: The aim of our study was to investigate the association between two MMP-2 and MMP-9 promoter gene polymorphisms and head and neck cancer. Methods. We enrolled 142 subjects, 65 cancer patients, and 77 control subjects and tested them for MMP-2 -735 C/T and MMP-9 -1562 C/T polymorphisms by PCR-RFLP. Results. Comparison between cancer patients and controls demonstrated the presence of MMP-2 -735 C/T and MMP-9 -1562 C/T in head and neck malignant tumours, with OR = 2.206 (95% CI 1.058-4.599, P = 0.03) for MMP-2 and OR = 2.748 (95% C.I. 1.262-5.981, P=0.009) for MMP-9 gene polymorphism. This means that the presence of T allele could be a risk factor for head and neck cancer development. The analysis included a stratification of studied groups by age and gender. Conclusions. Both genotypes were associated with a significant risk for head and neck carcinomas in case of the presence of the T allele. MMP-2 -735 C/T (rs2285053) and MMP-9 -1562 C/T (rs3918242) gene polymorphism could be an important genetic marker for head and neck cancer susceptibility. This finding could be useful for genetic screening in head and neck carcinomas.