Reexamining the risk of bladder cancer from smoking

January 01, 0001

Reexamining the risk of bladder cancer from smoking

The population attributable risk (PAR) of bladder cancer due to smoking was previously calculated to be around 60% in men and 25% in women. These US researchers reexamined the linkage between smoking and bladder cancer in light of changing smoking patterns. They used data from surveys completed in the the National Institutes of Health-AARP (NIH-AARP) Diet and Health Study cohort along with a systematic review of prospective cohort studies of smoking and incident bladder put through fixed-effects models o calculate risk. The study included a large number of men (n = 281,394) and women (n = 186,134).

The researchers found: "During 4,518,941 person-years of follow-up, incident bladder cancer occurred in 3896 men (144.0 per 100 000 person-years) and 627 women (34.5 per 100 000 person-years). Former smokers (119.8 per 100 000 person-years, HR, 2.22, NNH, 1250) and current smokers (177.3 per 100 000 person-years, HR, 4.06, NNH, 727) had higher risks of bladder cancer than never smokers (39.8 per 100 000 person-years). In contrast, the summary risk estimate for current smoking in 7 previous studies (initiated between 1963 and 1987) was 2.94. The PAR for ever smoking in our study was 0.50 in men and 0.52 in women."

The researchers concluded: "Compared with a pooled estimate of US data from cohorts initiated between 1963 and 1987, relative risks for smoking in the more recent NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study cohort were higher, with PARs for women comparable with those for men."

This study provides updated risk calculations for bladder cancer in smokers in the face of changing smoking patterns.

For the full abstract, click here.

JAMA 306(7):737-745, 17 August 2011 © 2011 American Medical Association
Association Between Smoking and Risk of Bladder Cancer Among Men and Women. Neal D. Freedman, Debra T. Silverman, Albert R. Hollenbeck, Arthur Schatzkin, Christian C. Abnet.

Category: U. Urinary System. Keywords: bladder, cancer, smoking, tobacco, prospective cohort study, systematic review and meta-analysis, journal watch.
Synopsis edited by Dr Paul Schaefer, Toledo, Ohio. Posted on Global Family Doctor 16 September 2011

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