Urinary mutagenicity and bladder cancer risk in northern New England.

The etiology of bladder cancer among never smokers without occupational or environmental exposure to established urothelial carcinogens remains unclear. Urinary mutagenicity is an integrative measure that reflects recent exposure to genotoxic agents. Here, we investigated its potential association with bladder cancer in rural northern New England. We analyzed 156 bladder cancer cases and 247 cancer-free controls from a large population-based case-control study conducted in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. Overnight urine samples were deconjugated enzymatically and the extracted organics were assessed for mutagenicity using the plate-incorporation Ames assay with the Salmonella frameshift strain YG1041 + S9. Logistic regression was used to estimate the odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) of bladder cancer in relation to having mutagenic versus nonmutagenic urine, adjusted for age, sex, and state, and stratified by smoking status (never, former, and current). We found evidence for an association between having mutagenic urine and increased bladder cancer risk among never smokers (OR = 3.8, 95% CI: 1.3-11.2) but not among former or current smokers. Risk could not be estimated among current smokers because nearly all cases and controls had mutagenic urine. Urinary mutagenicity among never-smoking controls could not be explained by recent exposure to established occupational and environmental mutagenic bladder carcinogens evaluated in our study. Our findings suggest that among never smokers, urinary mutagenicity potentially reflects genotoxic exposure profiles relevant to bladder carcinogenesis. Future studies are needed to replicate our findings and identify compounds and their sources that influence bladder cancer risk.

Ingested Nitrate and Nitrite and Bladder Cancer in Northern New England.

BACKGROUND: N-nitroso compounds are hypothesized human bladder carcinogens. We investigated ingestion of N-nitroso compound precursors nitrate and nitrite from drinking water and diet and bladder cancer in the New England Bladder Cancer Study. METHODS: Using historical nitrate measurements for public water supplies and measured and modeled values for private wells, as well as self-reported water intake, we estimated average nitrate concentrations (mg/L NO3-N) and average daily nitrate intake (mg/d) from 1970 to diagnosis/reference date (987 cases and 1,180 controls). We estimated overall and source-specific dietary nitrate and nitrite intakes using a food frequency questionnaire (1,037 cases and 1,225 controls). We used unconditional logistic regression to estimate odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI). We evaluated interactions with factors that may affect N-nitroso compound formation (i.e., red meat, vitamin C, smoking), and with water intake. RESULTS: Average drinking water nitrate concentration above the 95th percentile (>2.07 mg/L) compared with the lowest quartile (≤0.21 mg/L) was associated with bladder cancer (OR = 1.5, 95% CI = 0.97, 2.3; P trend = 0.01); the association was similar for average daily drinking water nitrate intake. We observed positive associations for dietary nitrate and nitrite intakes from processed meat (highest versus lowest quintile OR for nitrate = 1.4, 95% CI = 1.0, 2.0; P trend = 0.04; OR for nitrite = 1.5, 95% CI = 1.0, 2.1; P trend = 0.04, respectively), but not other dietary sources. We observed positive interactions between drinking water nitrate and red meat (P-interaction 0.05) and processed red meat (0.07). CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest the importance of both drinking water and dietary nitrate sources as risk factors for bladder cancer.

Bladder Cancer and Water Disinfection By-product Exposures through Multiple Routes: A Population-Based Case-Control Study (New England, USA).

BACKGROUND: Ingestion of disinfection byproducts has been associated with bladder cancer in multiple studies. Although associations with other routes of exposure have been suggested, epidemiologic evidence is limited. OBJECTIVES: We evaluated the relationship between bladder cancer and total, chlorinated, and brominated trihalomethanes (THMs) through various exposure routes. METHODS: In a population-based case­control study in New England (n=(1,213) cases; n=(1,418) controls), we estimated lifetime exposure to THMs from ingestion, showering/bathing, and hours of swimming pool use. We calculated odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) using unconditional logistic regression adjusted for confounders. RESULTS: Adjusted ORs for bladder cancer comparing participants with exposure above the 95th percentile with those in the lowest quartile of exposure (based on the distribution in controls) were statistically significant for average daily intake mg/d of total THMs [OR=1.53 (95% CI: 1.01, 2.32), p-trend=0.16] and brominated THMs [OR=1.98 (95% CI: 1.19, 3.29), p-trend=0.03]. For cumulative intake mg, the OR at the 95th percentile of total THMs was 1.45 (95% CI: 0.95, 2.2), p-trend=0.13; the ORs at the 95th percentile for chlorinated and brominated THMs were 1.77 (95% CI: 1.05, 2,.99), p-trend=0.07 and 1.78 (95% CI: 1.05, 3.00), p-trend=0.02, respectively. The OR in the highest category of showering/bathing for brominated THMs was 1.43 (95% CI: 0.80, 2.42), p-trend=0.10. We found no evidence of an association for bladder cancer and hours of swimming pool use. CONCLUSIONS: We observed a modest association between ingestion of water with higher THMs (>95th percentile vs.<25th percentile) and bladder cancer. Brominated THMs have been a particular concern based on toxicologic evidence, and our suggestive findings for multiple metrics require further study in a population with higher levels of these exposures. Data from this population do not support an association between swimming pool use and bladder cancer. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP89.