GSTM1 and NAT2 polymorphisms in operable and non-operable lung cancer patients

We have genotyped 657 Norwegian men, including 282 lung cancer patients (147 non-operable and 135 operable) and 375 healthy referents (210 smokers and 165 non-smokers), to study the possibility that glutathione S-transferase M1 (GSTM1)-null and/or N-acetyl transferase 2 (NAT2)-slow genotypes confer susceptibility towards lung cancer in smokers. Compared with smoking referents, there was a significant over-representation of the GSTM1-null genotype among patients with squamous cell carcinoma (SQ) [odds ratio (OR) = 1.7, 95% confidence interval (95%CI) = 1.1-2.7], and the NAT2-slow genotype among patients with large cell carcinoma or mixed histological diagnosis (LM) (OR = 2.5, 95%CI = 1.0-6.1). In contrast to operable patients, non-operable patients showed a clear over-representation of slow genotypes if they were younger (