This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Wallace, K. Articles by Karagas, M. R. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Wallace, K. Articles by Karagas, M. R. Related Collections Risk Assessment Risk Assessment: Risk Modeling and Prediction Risk Assessment: Biomarkers

Selenium and Risk of Bladder Cancer: A Population-Based Case-Control Study

Authors' Affiliations: ¹ Department of Community and Family Medicine, Section of Biostatistics and Epidemiology; ² Department of Pathology, Dartmouth Medical School, Hanover, New Hampshire; ³ Research Reactor Center, University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia, Missouri; and ⁴ Department of Community Health, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island

Requests for reprints: Margaret R. Karagas, Department of Community and Family Medicine, Section of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Dartmouth Medical School, 7927 Rubin Building, 1 Medical Center Drive, Lebanon, NH 03756. Phone: 603-653-9010; Fax: 603-653-9093; E-mail: Margaret.r.karagas{at}dartmouth.edu.

Emerging evidence indicates a potential role of selenium in the prevention of several types of cancer, including bladder cancer. We investigated the association between toenail selenium concentrations and bladder cancer risk in a population-based case-control study in New Hampshire. We analyzed data from 857 incidence cases diagnosed between July 1, 1994 and June 30, 2001 and 1,191 general population controls. Newly diagnosed cases of bladder cancer were identified from the New Hampshire State Cancer Registry, which operates a rapid reporting system. Controls were selected from population lists (driver's license and Medicare enrollment). We used logistic regression analyses to generate odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI), controlling for age, sex, and pack-years of smoking and conducted separate analyses according to the intensity of p53 immunohistochemical staining of the tumor. Overall, toenail selenium concentrations were not significantly related to bladder cancer [OR Q4 versus Q1, 0.90 (95% CI, 0.68-1.19); P_trend = 0.15]. However, within specific subgroups there were inverse associations, i.e., among moderate smokers [OR, 0.61 (95% CI, 0.39-0.96); P_trend = 0.004], women [OR, 0.66 (95% CI, 0.40-1.10); P_trend = 0.11], and those with p53-positive cancers [OR Q4 versus Q1, 0.57 (95% CI, 0.34-0.94); P_trend = 0.01]. Our results indicate that selenium is not inversely related to risk of bladder cancer overall; however, they raise the possibility that selenium may be preventive in certain molecular phenotypes of tumors (e.g., p53 positive) or within certain subsets of a population (e.g., women or moderate smokers).

Key Words: selenium • bladder • cancer • TP53 • smoking • gender