Background: Many studies have focused on possible associations between the glutathione S-transferase M 1 (GSTM1) null genotype and risk of renal cell carcinoma (RCC), but the impact remains unclear owing to obvious inconsistencies among the findings. The present study aimed to quantify the strength of any association in a meta-analysis.
Methods: We searched the PubMed, Embase and CBM databases for studies concerning the association between the GSTM1 null genotype and risk of RCC. We estimated the summary odds ratio (OR) with its 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) to assess the association.
Results: The meta-analysis showed the GSTM1 null genotype was not associated with risk of RCC overall (OR = 1.04, 95% CI 0.92-1.18, P = 0.501). For Caucasians, the GSTM1 null genotype was also not associated with risk of RCC (OR = 1.02, 95% CI 0.90-1.16, P = 0.761). The cumulative meta-analyses showed a trend of no obvious association between GSTM1 null genotype and risk of RCC as information accumulated. Sensitivity analyses by omitting those studies also did not materially alter the overall combined ORs. No evidence of publication bias was observed.
Conclusion: Meta-analyses of available data show that the GSTM1 null genotype is not significantly associated with risk of renal cell carcinoma.