ABSTRACT
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are important epigenetic regulators in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), with miR-31 being considered an oncomir and miR-375, a tumor suppressor miR, which are up- and down-regulated in HNSCC, respectively. Nutrients are known to influence miRNA expression; however, this association is poorly explored in HNSCC. This work aimed to identify associations between dietary intake and the expression of miR-31 and miR-375 in patients newly diagnosed with HNSCC. The expression of miR-31 was positively associated with the consumption of iron (ß = 16.65) and vitamin C (ß = 0.37), and inversely associated with total sugar (ß = -0.88), cholesterol (ß= -0.23), vitamin B9 (ß= -0.37) and zinc (ß = -5.66) intake. The expression of miR-375 was positively associated with the consumption of selenium (ß = 1.52), vitamin C (ß = 0.17) and vitamin D (ß = 13.01), and inversely associated with the consumption of added sugar (ß = -0.49), phosphorus (ß= -0.27) and vitamin B12 (ß = -10.80). Our findings showed important associations between dietary intake and miR-31 and miR-375 expression in HNSCC, offering possible directions for further studies investigating how nutrients interfere with carcinogenesis.Supplemental data for this article is available online at https://doi.org/10.1080/01635581.2021.1990972 .
