Effect of smoking and genetic polymorphisms interaction on the risk of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma （ESCC） is a malignant tumor caused by both environmental and genetic factors. Epidemiology studies have identified smoking as a major environmental risk factor. In recent years， the advancement of genomics research has led to the recognition of the influence of genetic variation in ESCC. We reviewed the research progress in smoking， genetic polymorphism and their interaction on susceptibility to ESCC. Reducing exposure time to tobacco was found to be the most effective way to reduce the risk. At the genetic level， mutations in DNA repair genes， regulation genes of carcinogen-metabolizing enzymes， cell cycle regulation genes， folate metabolism related genes， and alcohol metabolism related genes were found to significantly increase the risk of ESCC. However， studies on the interaction between smoking and genetic polymorphisms in ESCC risk are still limited， more studies are needed for better screening of the high-risk populations and the prevention.