p53 protein accumulation, iodine-unstained lesions, and alcohol dehydrogenase-1B and aldehyde dehydrogenase-2 genotypes in Japanese alcoholic men with esophageal dysplasia

Abstract: Inactive heterozygous aldehyde dehydrogenase-2 (ALDH2*1/*2) and less-active alcohol dehydrogenase-1B (ADH1B*1/*1) increase the risk of esophageal cancer in East Asian drinkers, and esophageal cancer multiplicity is strongly associated with ALDH2*1/*2. p53 alterations are key molecular events in multifocal carcinogenesis in the esophagus. We studied 260 esophageal-cancer free Japanese alcoholics with esophageal dysplasia diagnosed by biopsy of distinct iodine-unstained lesions (DIULs) ⩾5mm. The degree of p53 protein accumulation was positively associated with the degree of atypia (p <0.0001) and size (p =0.040) of DIULs and with the presence of multiple DIULs (p=0.070), but not with ALDH2*1/*2 or ADH1B*1/*1. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]