Head and Neck Surgery Unit, Liverpool, England;
University of Liverpool
Background:CYGB is a candidate tumor-suppressor gene on chromosome 17q and is the only gene completely contained within the 42.5-kilobase tylosis with esophageal cancer minimal region. This region is subject to frequent deletions in sporadic esophageal cancer; however, no coding mutations have been demonstrated in patients affected with tylosis. Cytoglobin is a recently described, intracellular globin whose role in cancer is as yet unclear but may be related to detoxification of oxygen-free radicals. Promoter methylation of CYGB in lung, head and neck, and sporadic esophageal cancer has recently become the focus of investigation within our group