Association of Titin Polymorphisms with the Progression of Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma and Its Clinicopathological Characteristics

This study examined the correlation of titin (<i>TTN</i>) polymorphisms with the sensitivity of oral squamous cell cancer (OSCC) and clinical characteristics. Six <i>TTN</i> SNPs, including rs10497520, rs12463674, rs12465459, rs2042996, rs2244492, and rs2303838, were evaluated in 322 control groups and 606 patients with oral cancer. We then investigated whether the SNP genotypes rs10497520 had associations with clinical pathological categories. Our data showed that the TC + CC genotype of rs10497520 was associated with moderate/poor tumor cell differentiation. The carriers of <i>TTN</i> rs10497520 polymorphic variant "TC + CC" in OSCC patients with cigarette smoking were linked with poor tumor differentiation (<i>p</i> = 0.008). Our results suggest that the <i>TTN</i> SNP rs10497520 is a possible genetic marker for oral cancer patients in the cigarette-smoking population. The <i>TTN</i> rs10497520 polymorphisms may be essential biomarkers to predict the onset and prognosis of oral cancer disease.