GSTT1 as a prognosticator for recurrence and progression in patients with non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer

Although polymorphisms in glutathione S-transferase (GST) have been associated with the risk of bladder cancer (BC), few reports provide information about the development of BC. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of homozygous glutathione S-transferase-μ (GSTM1) and glutathione S-transferase-ϕ (GSTT1) deletions as prognostic markers in non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC). A total of 241 patients with primary NMIBC were enrolled in this study. GSTM1 and GSTT1 polymorphisms were analyzed by multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using blood genomic DNA. The results were compared with clinicopathological parameters. The prognostic significance of the GSTs was evaluated by Kaplan-Meier and multivariate Cox regression model. A statistically significant association between genotype and histopathological parameter was not observed. The patients with the GSTT1-positive genotype had significantly reduced recurrence- and progression-free survival than those with the GSTT1-null genotype (log-rank test, p< 0.05, respectively). Recurrence- and progression-free survival were not related to the GSTM1 genotypes. In multivariate regression analysis, the GSTT1-positive genotype was the independent predictor for recurrence [hazard ratio (HR), 1.631; p=0.043] and progression (HR, 3.418; p=0.006). These results suggested that the GSTT1 genotype could be a useful prognostic marker for recurrence and progression in NMIBC.