Background: The aim of this study was to investigate whether a candidate gene, Sciellin (SCEL), mapping to the chromosome 13q21-q31 is mutated in esophageal cancer.
Materials and methods: The coding region and intron-exon junctions of SCEL were sequenced in 13 esophageal squamous cell cancers and matching normal esophageal samples to detect mutations.
Results: Three single nucleotide polymorphisms were detected in SCEL of which two were silent mutations (L640L and H654H) and one missense mutation (R366K).
Conclusion: Single nucleotide polymorphisms were detected in both matching tumor and normal esophageal tissues but no disease-associated mutations suggesting that SCEL is not a major factor in esophageal squamous cell carcinogenesis.