Predictive Role of Glutathione-S-transferase Gene Polymorphisms in Risk and Prognosis of Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Aim: We conducted a prospective study in an Chinese population to detect associations of GSTM, GSTT and GSTP polymorphisms with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and analyze roles in determining survival outcome. Methods: A prospective follow-up study was conducted with 476 HCC patients and 481 controls collected from May 2005 to May 2007. All patients were followed up until the end of Dec. 2011. GSTM1, GSTT1 and GSTP1 genotyping were performed by PCR-CTPP methods. Results: Null GSTM1 carriers had a 1.64 fold risk of HCC compared with non-null genotype, while GSTP1 Val/Val carriers had a 93% increased risk over the GSTP1 IIe/IIe genotype. The median follow-up time for the 476 patients was 34.2 months (range: 1 to 78 months). Individuals with null GSTM1 genotype had better survival of HCC than non-null genotype carriers (HR=0.71, 95% CI=0.45-0.95). Similarly, GSTP1 Val/Val genotypes had significant better survival than the GSTP1 IIe/IIe genotype (HR=0.34, 95% CI=0.18-0.65). Individuals carrying null GSTM1 and GSTP1 Val/Val who received chemotherapy had lower risk of death from HCC than those without chemotherapy. Conclusion: This study indicated carriage of null GSTM1 and GSTP1 Val/Val genotypes to have roles in susceptibility to and survival from HCC.