Expression of p53 is associated with microbial acetaldehyde production in oralsquamous cell carcinoma.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to investigate the association between p53 expression and microbial acetaldehyde production in patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC).

Study Design: Oral mucosal biopsies from 22 patients with OSCC and 24 healthy controls (HCs) were collected. p53 expression was analyzed by immunohistochemistry.

Local Acetaldehyde: Its Key Role in Alcohol-Related Oropharyngeal Cancer.

Background: Alcohol consumption and ethanol in alcoholic beverages are group 1 carcinogens, that is, carcinogenic to humans. However, ethanol itself is neither genotoxic nor mutagenic. Based on unique gene-epidemiologic and gene-biochemical evidence, the first metabolite of ethanol oxidation - acetaldehyde (ACH) - acts as a local carcinogen in the oropharynx.

Local Acetaldehyde-An Essential Role in Alcohol-Related Upper Gastrointestinal Tract Carcinogenesis.

The resident microbiome plays a key role in exposure of the upper gastrointestinal (GI) tract mucosa to acetaldehyde (ACH), a carcinogenic metabolite of ethanol. Poor oral health is a significant risk factor for oral and esophageal carcinogenesis and is characterized by a dysbiotic microbiome. Dysbiosis leads to increased growth of opportunistic pathogens (such as yeasts) and may cause an up to 100% increase in the local ACH production, which is further modified by organ-specific expression and gene polymorphisms of ethanol-metabolizing and ACH-metabolizing enzymes.