N-acetyltransferase 1 polymorphism and bladder cancer susceptibility: a meta-analysis of epidemiological studies

Abstract

Objective This meta-analysis was conducted to summarize the association between an N-acetyltransferase 1 ( NAT1) gene polymorphism and bladder cancer risk. Methods PubMed® and EMBASE databases were searched to identify studies that examined the effect of the NAT1*10 allele on the risk of bladder cancer. Results Eleven case–control studies, which included 3311 bladder cancer cases and 3906 control subjects, met the inclusion criteria. The pooled analyses based on all studies showed that there was no significant difference in the NAT1*10 allele between bladder cancer cases and controls (odds ratios [OR] 0.96; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.81, 1.10). When stratifying for race, the results were similar among Caucasians (OR 0.96; 95% CI 0.81, 1.12) and Asians (OR 0.87; 95% CI 0.48, 1.56). No statistical association was found between the NAT1*10 allele and bladder cancer risk upon stratification for smoking status and study design. Conclusions This meta-analysis suggests that there was no association between the NAT1*10 allele and bladder cancer risk. Further research should focus on other potentially functional genetic polymorphisms.