Genetic contribution to cancer risk in patients with tooth loss: a genetic association study

Early-stage cancer diagnosis is critical for higher survival rates. Because early cancers can be difficult to detect, our focus is on the identification of cancer risk markers such as pleiotropic genes involved in the etiology of both craniofacial conditions and cancers. In this study we aimed to test if our previously detected association between ERN1 rs196929 marker and oral health outcomes would be detected in individuals diagnosed with cancer as well as in a subpopulation of individuals who also had one or more teeth missing due to dental caries, periodontal disease, or periapical lesions. We genotyped a total of 1,671 subjects and selected a subset of 1,421 subjects for stratified analysis of cancer types; three hundred and twelve self-reported a diagnosis of various cancer types and 1,109 reported never receiving a diagnosis of cancer. Our results showed a statistically significant association between the rs196929 in ERN1, and cancer overall in both the additive and dominant models (OR = 1.37, 95% C.I. 1.06–1.79, p = 0.014). When we stratified the analysis for each cancer type, our results show that the rs196929 ERN1 variant is associated with skin cancer (OR = 2.07, 95% C.I. 1.27–3.37, p = 0.003) and breast cancer (OR = 1.83, 95% C.I. 1.13–2.99, p = 0.013) in the subset of patients that had tooth loss. An additional nominal association between the rs196929 in ERN1 and male’s reproductive system cancers (OR = 1.96, 95% C.I. 1.07–3.59, p = 0.028) was identified. We hope that our study helps guide future genetic studies on these cancers and this specific genetic variant as well as drive attention to the potential for oral health outcomes to serve as indicators for cancer risk. The early identification of genetic markers and/or oral conditions that indicate increased cancer risk could positively impact cancer outcomes and survival rates with timely implementation of preventive and diagnostic measures. In conclusion, our results suggest that the genetic variant in ERN1 (rs196929) is associated with increased risk of skin and breast cancers.