Pin1 is a peptidylprolyl isomerase that specifically recognizes phosphorylated Pro-directed Ser/Thr (pSer/Thr-Pro) peptide sequences. Genetic variants in the Pin1 gene may alter protein function and cancer risk. In this study, we genotyped the two common promoter polymorphisms -842G/C (rs2233678) and -667T/C (rs2233679) in two independent hospital-based case-control studies conducted in Eastern Chinese populations, including 209 patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma and 444 cancer-free controls. We found -667TT heterozygotes had a significantly increased risk of oral squamous cell carcinoma (P=0.028, OR=1.66, 95%CI=1.02-2.69). However, there was no risk significant associated with the -842G/C polymorphism. Further large population-based studies are needed to confirm these results.
Keywords: Polymorphism; oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC); peptidylprolyl isomerase pin1; single nucleotide (SNP).