MDM2 SNP309 T>G gene polymorphism in head and neck cancer in an Indonesian population

Murine double minute 2 (MDM2) is a negative regulator of the tumor suppressor p53. Studies have reported that the MDM2 SNP309 T>G polymorphism increases the susceptibility to head and neck cancer (HNC). In particular, the GG genotype of SNP309 in the MDM2 promoter region was found to increase the affinity of the Sp1 transcription factor, leading to higher levels of mRNA and MDM2 protein, thereby reducing the activity of p53 and potentially promoting the development of cancer. This study was conducted to compare the status of the polymorphism in 50 patients with HNC and 50 healthy individuals among an Indonesian population using the polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism technique. Statistical analysis using Fisher's exact test was performed to analyze the significance of the observed differences in frequencies between the two groups. Results demonstrated the presence of all genotype variants of the polymorphism, but there were no significant differences in the genotype or allele frequencies between patients with HNC and healthy individuals among the tested Indonesian population.