Genetic polymorphisms of drug-metabolizing enzymes and lung cancer susceptibility

A close association of smoking-associated lung cancer incidence with the Msp 1 and 1le-Val polymorphisms of CYP1A1 gene was found in a Japanese population in terms of genotype frequency comparison and cigarette dose response. A synergistic increase in susceptibility to lung cancer was observed when the susceptible genotypes of CYP1A1 were combined with a deficient GSTM1 genotype. Individual difference in expression levels of Ahr and Arnt mRNAs was observed, and the expression levels of CYP1A1 appeared to associate with those of transcriptional factors. The Ahr protein has two different structures, ascribed to one amino acid replacement at codon 554 of Arg by Lys. However, this germ line polymorphism did not show a significant association with AHH inducibility nor lung cancer incidence. The p53 gene alterations in lung cancer tissues were more frequently observed among the patients with a susceptible allele of CYP1A1 gene.