Purpose: The incidence of prostate cancer is increasing in low-risk populations such as Japanese. One of the causes of this increase is considered to be associated with the Western diet, especially the high intake of red meat and fat. Glutathione S-transferase (GST) A1, T1, M1, and P1 are phase II enzymes that are important for activation and detoxification of chemical carcinogens.
Methods: In this study, 190 Japanese male patients with prostate cancer and 294 healthy controls, frequency-matched for age, were compared for frequencies of GSTA1, GSTT1, GSTM1, and GSTP1 genotypes.
Results: Among smokers, the frequency of the GSTA1*A/*B or *B/*B genotype in patients with prostate cancer (27.8%) showed a statistically significant increase compared with the control group frequency (18.2%; odds ratio [OR] =1.72; 95% CI, 1.01-2.94). In addition, the frequency of GSTT1 nondeletion genotype was associated with prostate cancer among smokers (OR =1.68; 95% CI, 1.06-2.68). The OR of carrying the combined genotyping of GSTA1*A/*B or *B/*B and GSTT1 nondeletion was 2.08 (95% CI, 1.14-3.80) with the combined genotyping of GSTA1*A/*A and GSTT1 null as a reference. On the other hand, no significant associations were observed for genotypes of GSTM1 and GSTP1 I105V.
Conclusions: These findings suggest that the GSTA1 and GSTT1 polymorphisms are associated with prostate cancer susceptibility, especially among smokers.