Association between glutathione S-transferase M1 null genotype and risk of gallbladder cancer: a meta-analysis

Glutathione S-transferases (GSTs) are a family of enzymes which are involved in the detoxification of potential carcinogens. Glutathione S-transferase M1 (GSTM1) null genotype can impair the enzyme activity of GSTs and is suspected to increase the susceptibility to gallbladder cancer. Previous studies investigating the association between GSTM1 null genotype and risk of gallbladder cancer reported inconsistent findings. To quantify the association between GSTM1 null genotype and risk of gallbladder cancer, we performed a meta-analysis of published studies. We searched PubMed, Embase, and Wanfang databases for all possible studies. We estimated the pooled odds ratio (OR) with its 95% confidence interval (95% CI) to assess the association. Meta-analysis of total included studies showed that GSTM1 null genotype was not associated with gallbladder cancer risk (OR = 1.13, 95% CI 0.88-1.46, P = 0.332). Subgroup analysis by ethnicity showed that there was no association between GSTM1 null genotype and risk of gallbladder cancer in both Caucasians and Asians. However, meta-analysis of studies with adjusted estimations showed that GSTM1 null genotype was associated with increased risk of gallbladder cancer (OR = 1.46, 95% CI 1.02-2.09, P = 0.038). Thus, this meta-analysis shows that GSTM1 null genotype is likely to be associated with risk of gallbladder cancer. More studies with well design and large sample size are needed to further validate the association between GSTM1 null genotype and gallbladder cancer.