Glutathione S-Transferase P1 Variant Plays a Major Contribution to Decreased Susceptibility to Liver Cancer in Thais

Glutathione S-transferases (GSTs) play important roles in carcinogenic biotransformation processes, whichvary among individuals. Polymorphisms of the encoding genes are associated with alteration of detoxificationcapacity, resulting in a variable risk of cancer development. The present study was performed to determine theeffects of polymorphisms in GST (M1, P1, and T1) genes on susceptibility to liver cancer in Thais. We recruited140 hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) patients and 280 healthy volunteers forour unmatched case-control based association study. GSTM1 deletion and heterozygous deletion were determinedand discriminated by semi-quantitative denaturing high performance liquid chromatography (DHPLC). Apolymerase chain reaction - restriction fragment length polymorphisms (PCR-RFLPs) approach was utilized todetect the GSTP1 Ile105Val variant, while the GSTT1 null allele was detected by multiplex PCR. With resultsfor single locus associations, only GSTP1 Ile/Val showed a significant decrease in the risk of liver cancer (OR=0.58;95% CI: 0.36-0.90; p-value=0.016). GSTP1 (Ile/Val) interacted with the GSTT1 wild type to further decreasesusceptibility to liver cancer (OR=0.41; 95% CI: 0.18-0.93; p-value=0.029). Moreover, three locus interactionsof GSTP1 (Ile/Val or Val/Val) with either wild type or null alleles of both GSTM1 and GSTT1 decreased risk ofliver cancer. In conclusion the GSTP1 null genotype apparently causes decreased risk of liver cancer in Thais.The findings point to GSTP1 Ile105Val as a possible protective allele against liver cancer risk.