BACKGROUND:

Despite many studies on diet and bladder cancer, there are areas that remain unexplored including meat mutagens, specific vegetable groups, and vitamins from diet.

METHODS:

We conducted a population-based case-control study of bladder cancer in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. A total of 1171 cases were ascertained through hospital pathology records and cancer registries from 2001 to 2004. Overall, 1418 controls were identified from the Department of Motor Vehicles (<65 years) and Center for Medicaid and Medicare Services (65-79 years) and were frequency-matched to cases by state, sex, and age (within 5 years). Diet was assessed with a self-administered Diet History Questionnaire. Unconditional logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI).

RESULTS:

Processed meat intake was positively associated with bladder cancer (highest vs lowest quartile OR: 1.28; 95% CI: 1.00-1.65; P(trend)=0.035), with a stronger association for processed red meat (OR: 1.41; 95% CI: 1.08-1.84; P(trend)=0.024). There were no associations between intake of fruits or vegetables and bladder cancer. We did, however, observe an inverse association with vitamin B12 intake (OR: 0.77; 95% CI: 0.61-0.99; P=0.019).

CONCLUSION:

Vitamin B12 from diet may be protective against bladder cancer, whereas consuming processed meat may increase risk.

© 2012 Cancer Research UK