An association of UDP-glucuronosyltransferase 2B7 C802T (His268Tyr) polymorphism with bladder cancer in benzidine-exposed workers in China.

UDP-Glucuronyltransferase 2B7 (UGT2B7) is involved in benzidine metabolism, as demonstrated by in vitro experiments with liver slices. To evaluate the possible association of UGT2B7 gene polymorphism with bladder cancer risk for benzidine-exposed subjects, diagnosed bladder cancer cases (n = 36) who were members of a cohort of benzidine-exposed workers in the Chinese dyestuff industry were investigated. UGT2B7 polymorphism at locus C802T (His268Tyr) was detected using a PCR-RFLP based procedure. Nondiseased cohort members (156 men, 95 women) were taken as work-related control, and unexposed healthy individuals (113 men, 105 women) were taken as community control. The data showed that the polymorphism at locus UGT2B7 C802T in a general Chinese population significantly differs from that in a Caucasian population (p = 0.00018), displaying a distinctly lower frequency of T/T genotypes (9.2 vs. 25.3%), while no significant difference to a Japanese population could be detected (p = 0.17). A higher prevalence of T/T genotype carriers was found in the cancer cases, compared with unexposed healthy controls (25 vs. 9%, odds ratio [OR] 3.30, 95% confidence interval [95% CI] 1.37-7.98, p = 0.006). A higher presentation of T allele carriers in the patients group was also confirmed (46 vs. 33%, OR 1.73, 95% CI 1.05-2.87, p = 0.03). A higher portion of the T/T genotype was also observed in bladder cancer patients compared with nondiseased members of the same benzidine-exposed cohort, although some of them displayed different degrees of cellular alterations in their exfoliated urothelial cells. This study points for the first time to an association between a homozygous mutant genotype of human UDP-glucuronosyltransferase 2B7 catalyzing the biotransformation of benzidine and an elevated bladder cancer risk for formerly benzidine-exposed workers of the dyestuff industry.

Polymorphism of N-acetyltransferase 2 (NAT2) gene polymorphism in shanghai population: occupational and non-occupational bladder cancer patient groups.

OBJECTIVE: Arylamine N-acetyltransferases (NATs) are involved in the detoxification of aromatic amines and hydrazine. In order to explore the possible association of NAT2 polymorphism with bladder cancer risk in benzidine exposed or non-exposed Chinese individuals, healthy subjects, subjects with bladder cancer of a former benzidine exposed cohort in Shanghai dyestuff industry and a group of bladder cancer patients without known occupational exposure to aromatic amines were genotyped for NAT2 gene polymorphism. METHODS: NAT2 genotyping was performed with a set of RFLP procedures at seven major polymorphic loci of gene coding area: G191A, C282T, T341C, C481T, G590A, A803G and G857A. RESULTS: The wild allele NAT2 *4 was the most prevalent allele (59%) in healthy individuals. The alleles NAT2*6A and NAT2*7B were also frequently observed (21% and 17%, respectively). In contrast to Caucasians, the percentage of slow acetylators was lower (12% in Chinese vs. 58% in Caucasians, P < 0.001). No relevant differences were observed for homogenous rapid, heterogeneous rapid/slow and homogeneous slow acetylation genotypes between the healthy subjects and both groups of bladder cancer patients. CONCLUSION: The present work did not support the association of slow acetylating genotypes of NAT2 gene with elevated risk of bladder cancer in Chinese whereas it was documented as an important genetically determined risk factor in Caucasians. Different mechanisms might play a role in individual susceptibility to bladder cancer related with aromatic amine exposure in various races or ethnic groups.