Betel quid chewing, cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption have been claimed to play a role in the etiology of cancer of the oral cavity. Objectives: The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between these etiologic factors on the incidence of oral cancer and to study the genetic mutations in the mismatch repair genes in a group of Thai patients. Methods: 83 Patients visiting the Rajvithi hospital in Bangkok with diagnosis of oral cancer confirmed by histopathology were interviewed on demographic characteristics, occupation and historical information on risk habit. The mutations of mismatch repair genes both hMSH2 (16 exons) and hMLH1 (19 exons) were determined using single strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) and the mutation in samples with SSCP mobility band shift were confirmed by nucleotide sequencing, Results: The patient group was predominantly female (62%). The majority of sites of the cancerous lesion found at the buccal mucosa and gingiva (50 %). The results indicated that most patients had either single exposure or combined exposure of the three risk factors and only one had no past history of these factors. Female oral cancer patients had higher betel quid chewing habit than male patients. No genetic mutation of mismatch repair gene was detected in 32 oral squamous cell carcinoma patients. Conclusion: Betel quid chewing, cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption are etiologic factors in Thai oral cancer patients. The somatic mutation of DNA mismatch repair genes was unlikely to be associated with Thai oral cancer. Supported by a grant from the Faculty of Dentistry, Mahidol University.

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