Objective: The occurrence of oral precancerous lesion is related with not only carcinogenic environmental factors but also some self-regulating mechanisms. The genetic heredity factors determine individual's DNA repair capacity. The study is attempted to investigate the change of DNA repair capacity of the patients with the precancerous lesion.
Methods: The study is conducted in 16 pairs of oral precancerous lesion and normal controls by using host cell reactivation assay, while some dangerous factors such as smoking, alcohol intaking and family history of cancers are also recorded.
Results: The host cell reactivation in the patients with precancerous lesion is lower than that of normal controls (P < 0.05) and is shown to be an independent risk factor in the occurrence of oral precancerous lesion (OR: 3.25 95% CI = 1.01-10.49).
Conclusion: The host cell reactivation is likely to be a helpful indicator for predict prognosis of cancer for the individuals with highly genetic sensitivity to cancer.