RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Nicotinic acetylcholine receptor is implicated in carcinogenesis indirectly through increasing nicotine dependence and directly through its impact on cell-cycle regulation. Functional polymorphism in nicotinic acetylcholine receptor alpha-5 subunit gene (CHRNA5 c.1192G>A; rs16969968) is associated with nicotine dependence and risk of lung cancer. AIM: The aim of this study was to evaluate the association of CHRNA5 c.1192G>A polymorphism with the risk of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). SETTINGS AND DESIGN: This was a rural teaching hospital-based case-control study. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 100 histopathologically confirmed cases of OSCC patients and 100 age- and gender-matched healthy individuals were genotyped for CHRNA5 c.1192G>A polymorphism by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism method. Allele and genotype frequencies among case and control groups were compared by Chi-squared test (Fisher's exact). RESULTS: The frequency of CHRNA5 c.1192A allele was 22% in OSCC patients and 26% in control individuals. The difference in the distribution of alleles and genotypes between case and control groups was not significant (P > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: CHRNA5 c.1192G>A polymorphism is not associated with the risk of developing OSCC.