Association of GSTM1 null allele with prostate cancer risk: evidence from 36 case-control studies.

• Main Authors: Bingbing Wei, Zhuoqun Xu, You Zhou, Jun Ruan, Huan Cheng, Bo Xi, Ming Zhu, Ke Jin, Deqi Zhou, Qiang Hu, Qiang Wang, Zhirong Wang, Zhiqiang Yan, Feng Xuan, Xing Huang, Jian Zhang, Hongyi Zhou
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2012-01-01
• Series: PLoS ONE
• Online Access: http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3468624?pdf=render

BACKGROUND: Glutathione S-transferase M1 (GSTM1) is thought to be involved in detoxifying several carcinogens and may play a vital role in tumorigenesis. Numerous studies have evaluated the association between GSTM1 null/present polymorphism and risk of prostate cancer (PCa). However, the results remain inconsistent. To derive a more precise estimation, we performed a meta-analysis. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: A comprehensive search was conducted to identify all eligible case-control studies. We used odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) to assess the strength of the association. The overall association was significant (OR = 1.28, 95% CI: 1.11-1.48, P = 0.001). Moreover, subgroup analyses showed GSTM1 null genotype significantly associated with PCa risk among Asians (OR = 1.35, 95% CI: 1.03-1.78, P = 0.03) but not among Caucasians (OR = 1.12, 95% CI: 0.96-1.31, P = 0.16). In addition, we did not find that smoking modified the genotype effect on the risk of PCa. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The present meta-analysis suggested that GSTM1 null allele was a low-penetrant risk factor for PCa among Asians.