Head and Neck Cancer Genome-wide Association Study

Head and neck cancers have well-documented associations with tobacco and alcohol exposure, but the disease develops in only a small fraction of users, which implies an important role for genetic susceptibility. Therefore, head and neck cancers are an excellent model for studying genetic susceptibility to environmental carcinogens. The primary goal of this study is to perform a comprehensive two-stage, high-density, genome-wide single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) analysis of head and neck cancer cases and corresponding frequency matched controls to identify novel genetic risk factors for head and neck cancer. In the study, we genotyped 2242 head and neck cancer cases and 1198 controls using Illumina HumanOmniExpress-12v1 BeadChip.]]>
Inclusion: The participants will be recruited for the study if they meet the following criteria: a. Newly diagnosed, untreated, histopathologically confirmed head and neck cancers; b. Cancer-free individuals to be used as controls; c. For the case, history of non-melanoma (squamous cell or basal cell) skin cancer or previously surgically treated in situ cervical cancer is eligible; d. U.S. resident with head and neck cancer or cancer-free control; e. Age 18 years or older; f. No blood transfusions in the last 6 months; g. Agree to venipuncture and for the cases agree to use of residual tissue specimen; h. Agree to complete a "Head and Neck Study" questionnaire interview and a self-administered food-frequency questionnaire. Exclusion: Anything that does not fit the inclusion criteria. ]]>