Affiliations: Department of Medicine, Maulana Azad Medical College,
University of Delhi, India | Department of Biosciences, Jamia Millia Islamia, New
Delhi, India | Institute of Cytology and Preventive Oncology, ICMR,
Noida, India | Department of Gastroenterology, Madurai Medical
College, Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India | Department of Microbiology, Guru Nanak Dev University,
Amritsar, India
Note: [] Corresponding author: Dr. P. Kar, Director-Professor,
Department of Medicine, Room No. 101/127, Ist floor, B.L Taneja Block, Maulana
Azad Medical College, New Delhi-110002, India. Tel./Fax: +91 011 23230132;
E-mail: pkar@vsnl.com
Abstract: Objective: Our aim was to evaluate whether the association of
GSTM1/T1 gene polymorphisms modifies the risk of Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC)
and what is its correlation with other predisposing risk factors like alcohol
intake, cigarette smoking and hepatitis B and C infections. Study design/setting: It was a case-control study, included 254 HCC cases compared
with 525 hospital-based age and sex matched cases of chronic liver disease
without HCC as controls from Indian population. The GSTM1 and GSTT1 genotypes
were detected using conventional multiplex PCR method. Results: In this
case-control study, we observed a positive correlation between age, HBV and HCV
infection, smoking habit of > 20 packs/year, alcohol consumption of >
100 g/day and risk of liver cancer. We found significantly increased risk
associated with GSTM1 null genotype (OR = 3.49; 95% CI = 2.52–4.84) as
well as GSTT1 null genotype (OR = 3.12; 95% CI = 2.19–4.45),
respectively. However, an increased risk of HCC was observed among heavy
drinkers with GSTM1 (OR = 2.01; 95% CI = 1.11–3.66). Further, cigarette
smoking showed a non-significant association with GSTT1 (OR = 1.49; CI =
0.69–3.25). Conclusion: Our results suggest that the variants in low
penetrance gene such as GSTM1 and GSTT1 are associated with an increased liver
cancer risk. Further, an influence of GSTM1/T1 null genotypes may contribute in
the etiology of HCC in patients with higher cigarette and alcohol
consumption.
