Risk Effects of GST Gene Polymorphisms in Patients with Acute Myeloid Leukemia: A Prospective Study

Glutathione S-transferase (GST) enzyme levels are associated with risk of many cancers, including hematologictumours. We here aimed to investigate the relationships between GSTM1, GSTT1 and GSTP1 polymorphisms andthe risk of AML. Genotyping of GSTs was based upon duplex polymerase-chain-reactions with the confrontingtwo-pair primer (PCR-CTPP) method in 163 cases and 204 controls. Individuals carrying null GSTT1 genotypehad a 1.64 fold risk of acute leukemia relative to a non-null genotype (P<0.05). A heavy risk was observed inthose carrying combination of null genotypes of GSTM1 and GSTT1 and GSTP1 Val allele genotypes whencompared with those carrying wild genotypes, with an OR (95% CI) of 3.39 (1.26-9.26) (P<0.05). These findingsindicate that genetic variants of GST and especially the GSTT1 gene have a critical function in the developmentof AML. Our study offers important insights into the molecular etiology of AML.