The expression of the cytochrome P450 CYP3A5 enzymes shows a wide variation across the general population and ethnic groups. This wide disparity implies interracial differences in drug clearance and susceptibility to diseases such as cancer. CYP3A5 polymorphisms were rapidly determined using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis in 113 Taiwanese patients with hepatoma, 70 with cervical cancer, 92 with breast cancer, 82 with oral cancer, 90 with thyroid cancer, 133 with lung cancer, and 270 healthy controls. The allelic frequencies of CYP3A5*1 were 25% in hepatoma patients, 33% in cervical cancer patients, 31% in breast cancer patients, 22% in oral cancer patients, 23% in thyroid cancer patients, 20% in lung cancer patients, and 27% in healthy subjects. Lung cancer patients had a significantly lower frequency (20%) of CYP3A5*1 expression than healthy controls (p = 0.028, odds ratio = 1.49, 95% confidence interval = 1.04-2.13), but there was no statistically significant difference between healthy controls and other cancers. We suggest that CYP3A5*1 may play an important role in individual predisposition to lung cancer in Taiwan.