Subjects with low levels of BRCA2 in the PBL (<38,000), greater than 36 years of age and the habit of smoking (terminal node 2), exhibited a 1.78-fold risk for HNSCC (OR = 1.78, 95% CI = 0.33–9.52), though this risk was not significant statistically. The gene discussed is BRCA2; the disease is head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.