Increased bladder cancer risk in smokers

New admixtures in cigarettes cause a higher risk of bladder cancer

17/08/2011

According to a study by the National Cancer Institute of the United States (NCI), bladder cancer is caused by smoking in half of all women. The scientists suspect that an increase in the addition of new cigarette ingredients is responsible for this.

Bladder cancer is the fifth most common malignancy in humans. Men are about three times more likely to develop bladder cancer than women. In Germany alone, around 16,000 new cases are diagnosed each year. In recent years, a bladder bladder cancer diagnosis is also evident in women. In every other case, smoking is the cause, as a new study found. US researchers are now investigating why this accumulation occurs, although smoking has been declining for years. Earlier studies had assumed that cigarette smoking was the cause of about 20 to 30 percent of women. In fact, it should be according to the National Cancer Institute of the United States in about 50 percent of the case. The scientists suspect that this is responsible for the change in the admixture of cigarettes.

Evaluation of data identified higher risk
To investigate this question, the physicians analyzed data from about 450,000 subjects of an American study on the subject „Food and health“ from the years 1995 and 2006. The evaluation showed that smoking produces a far higher bladder cancer risk than previously assumed. „Smokers are four times more likely to get it than non-smokers“, Study Director Neal Freedman in the journal of the American Medical Association „JAMA“. Other studies have identified factor three in the past.

Additives cause higher bladder cancer risk
According to the study authors, the significant increase could be in the changed composition of the cigarettes. Although today, less and less tar and nicotine are blended in cigarettes, but have the consistency of the carcinogenic substance „Beta-naphthylamine“ strongly increased. The concentration is greatly increased in many brands. From this finding it can also be explained why the occurrence of bladder tumors on average remains unchanged for 30 years, although the number of smokers has decreased significantly. About 15,000 people die from bladder cancer each year in the United States, and approximately 70,000 women and men are diagnosed with bladder cancer every year.

Bladder cancer begins without pain
Bladder cancer is usually diagnosed late, because in the early stages often no complaints are noticeable. The main indication is blood in the urine, which can either be seen with the naked eye or detected in the laboratory. In late-stage bladder cancer causes pain when urinating because either a urinary or renal congestion occurs. Other complaints include pain in the bladder or flank pain. The prospect of recovery depends crucially on the extent of the tumor that has already traveled at the start of treatment. (Sb)

Read about bladder cancer:
Red meat can cause bladder cancer
Diabetes drug increases bladder cancer risk
Cancer therapy: breast milk as a cancer killer

Picture: Thorsten Freyer