GLUCOSE-6-PHOSPHATE-DEHYDROGENASE DEFICIENCY AND LUNG-CANCER - A HOSPITAL BASED CASE-CONTROL STUDY

A hospital based case-control study was conducted to test the hypothesis of a lower lung cancer risk in G6PD-deficient subjects. Cases were 156 male patients with lung cancer, admitted to << Binaghi >> Hospital, Local Health Unit (USL) 20, Cagliari (Italy), between January 1984 and November 1986. Controls were 235 male patients, admitted to the same hospital in the same time period, for diseases other than cancer (all types) and hemolytic anemia. No decrease of the lung cancer risk was found in G6PD-deficient subjects. This result, in line with recent reports in the literature, suggests that the genetic condition of G6PD deficiency does not provide significant protection against the development of lung cancer in humans.