Background: Although the incidence of all cancers in Okinawa is the lowest in Japan, that of lung cancer is high. This study was performed to clarify the underlying mechanism of this tendency.
Materials and methods: Family histories of the lung cancer patients in Okinawa, p53 mutation, microsatellite alterations, and titers of serum anti-p53 antibodies were examined.
Results: The number of patients who had relatives with some malignancies in relatives was low in Okinawa, but lung cancer was frequently observed in their relatives. Overexpression of p53 protein was frequently observed in squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) than in adenocarcinoma (AD), and in smokers than in non-smokers. Anti-p53 antibodies were detected in 17.4%. The incidence of loss of heterozygosity at D3S643 and at IFNA were higher in SCC than in AD.
Conclusions: Lung cancer was frequently observed in relatives of lung cancer patients. Pulmonary SCC had different genetic alterations compared with pulmonary AD in Okinawa.