Background
The evidence of an association between the Sulfotransferase 1A1 (SULT1A1) Arg213His polymorphism (rs9282861) and bladder cancer risk is still conflicting. We conducted a meta-analysis to assess the association between this polymorphism and bladder cancer risk.
Material and Methods
PubMed, EMBASE, HuGE Navigator, and Web of Science databases were searched for correlative articles. The risk (odds ratio, OR) was used to estimate the association between SULT1A1 Arg213His polymorphism and bladder cancer risk. All of the studies used either fixed-effects or random-effects models. For assessing the credibility of an association, we applied the Venice criteria.
Results
Seven published case-control studies with 1688 cases and 2842 controls were included in this meta-analysis. There were 5 studies of Caucasians and 2 studies of Asians. Four studies reported data on smoking behavior. The percentage of Arg/Arg was higher in Asians and non-smokers than that in Caucasians and smokers, respectively. A significant association of this polymorphism with bladder cancer was found (OR=1.45, 95% CI 1.18–1.78, P=0.0004). In the subgroup analysis by ethnicity, a significant association was found among Caucasians (OR=1.43, 95% CI 1.16–1.77, P=0.0008) but not among Asians (OR=1.89, 95% CI 0.68–5.26, P=0.22). In the subgroup analysis by smoking behavior, increased bladder cancer risk was found in the smokers (OR=1.39, 95% CI 1.01–1.91, P=0.04) and non-smokers (OR=1.74, 95% CI 1.24–2.43, P=0.001).
Conclusions
In conclusion, this meta-analysis indicated that SULT1A1 Arg213His polymorphism is associated with bladder cancer risk.

Keywords: Arylsulfotransferase - genetics, Amino Acid Substitution, Case-Control Studies, Genetic Association Studies, Genetic Predisposition to Disease, Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide - genetics, Risk Factors, Smoking - adverse effects, Urinary Bladder Neoplasms - genetics