Certain ecologic factors associated with greater risk of bladder cancerApril 27, 2009Persons drinking well water (as opposed to public supply) may be at an increased risk of bladder cancer, according to new research from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Researchers will present data about the relationship between bladder cancer and certain ecologic factors including water source and UV radiation levels at the 104th Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Urological Association (AUA). From these results, researchers hypothesized that increased bladder cancer risks from well water may arise from pesticide contamination, which may be present in drinking water from unmonitored domestic wells. Researchers also identified solar UV radiation as the best predictor of bladder cancer incidence and mortality in men, and solar UV radiation and smoking as the best predictors of incidence and mortality in women. Because bladder cancer rates vary among states in the United States, and the causes for these variations are largely uncertain, researchers sought to compare bladder cancer incidence and mortality rates in the country to ecological factors that may have an association. The study compared bladder cancer incidence and mortality rates for men and women in the United States to levels of former cigarette smoking, solar UV radiation and well water as a source of drinking, as opposed to public supply. Lack of health insurance and median family income were taken into account to adjust for access to healthcare and socioeconomic status. Researchers obtained cigarette smoking levels and health insurance statuses from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, an annual survey sponsored by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for health tracking; state-specific solar UV radiation levels from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA); well water usage among states from the U.S. Geological Survey; and family income from the U.S. Census Bureau. The study reaffirmed that cigarette smoking is directly associated with bladder cancer incidence and mortality rates in men and women, and found that well water intake is directly associated with bladder cancer incidence in women and mortality rates in both sexes; and that exposure to solar UV radiation is inversely associated with bladder cancer incidence and mortality rates in both sexes. "Cigarette smoking is a well-known risk factor associated with bladder cancer but sources such as the patient's water supply are coming to light as potential unmonitored risk factors," said J. Brantley Thrasher, MD, an AUA spokesman. American Urological Association |
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| Related Bladder Cancer Current Events and Bladder Cancer News Articles Prediction model superior to traditional criteria in bladder treatment decision A statistical model can accurately predict which patients will have poor outcomes after bladder surgery and can determine the need for chemotherapy. Hopkins scientists find cells responsible for bladder cancer's spread Johns Hopkins scientists have tracked down a powerful set of cells in bladder tumors that seem to be primarily responsible for the cancer's growth and spread using a technique that takes advantage of similarities between tumor and organ growth. Variation in prostate stem cell antigen gene raises bladder cancer risk Researchers have pinpointed a specific gene variation that causes increased risk of urinary bladder cancer, according to a scientific team led by The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center. UT Southwestern researchers investigate high-risk populations for bladder-cancer screenings A new study by UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers sheds light on the challenges involved in identifying which high-risk population would benefit most from bladder-cancer screening. DKK-3 and WIF-1: Proteins related to liver cancer development? Liver cancer is one of the most fatal human malignancies and the third most frequent cause of tumor-related death, about half a million people globally each year. Mayo Clinic researcher says improved detection of bladder tumors reduces cancer recurrence Making tumors inside the bladder fluoresce red under blue light allows physicians to more easily find and remove them, substantially reducing the rate at which these cancers come back, says a Mayo Clinic physician who is presenting results of a large, multicenter international clinical trial. Genetic Variants Predict Recurrence of Bladder Cancer, Patient Survival Scientists at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center have discovered genetic variations in the inflammation pathway that reduce the likelihood of recurrence and increase survival of patients with non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) who are treated with mainstream therapy. More intense bladder cancer treatment does not improve survival, U-M study finds Despite enduring more invasive tests and medical procedures, patients who were treated aggressively for early stage bladder cancer had no better survival than patients who were treated less aggressively. New Discovery Raises Doubts About Use of Certain Targeted Therapies in Bladder Cancer Researchers at the University of Virginia Health System have found that one of the genes commonly thought to promote the growth and spread of some types of cancers is in fact beneficial in bladder cancer - a major discovery that could significantly alter the way bladder cancers are treated in the future. New investigational treatment for bladder cancer, identified with Columbia-developed research model A team of researchers, led by Columbia University Medical Center faculty, has identified a new investigational therapy for the treatment of bladder cancer. More Bladder Cancer Current Events and Bladder Cancer News Articles |
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