Susceptibility to lung cancer may, in part, be determined by interindividual differences in the cytochrome P450-catalysed bioactivation and the glutathione S-transferase-catalysed detoxification of procarcinogens. Therefore a lung cancer case-control study was set up to investigate the association of three polymorphisms of the CYP1A1 gene (CYP1A1*2A, CYP1A1*2B, CYP1A1*4) and GSTM1*0 genotype with lung cancer risk in Austrian Caucasians. Genomic DNA was isolated from the peripheral blood lymphocytes of 134 male lung cancer patients and 134 age-matched controls with nonmalignant conditions and PCR-based analyses were performed. There was no significant difference in risk between cases and controls, either for the CYP1A1*2A (OR=1.09, 95%CI=0.46-2.58), CYP1A1*2B (OR=1.09, 95%CL=0.46-2.58) or for the CYP1A1*4 polymorphism (OR=0.49, 95%CL=0.20-1.16). The prevalence of the GSTM1*0 genotype in the lung cancer group (47.8%) was comparable to that found in the control group (49.3%) and also had no effect on lung cancer risk (OR=0.94, 95%CL=0.54-1.57). Further, in a subgroup of male ever-smokers (n=126), no significant influence on the relative risk was found for these polymorphisms. Our results suggest that these investigated polymorphisms can not be considered as genetic susceptibility markers for lung cancer within the Austrian Caucasian population.