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Impact of alcohol consumption on the risk of developing bladder cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis

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Abstract

Background

Epidemiologic studies that investigated alcohol consumption in relation to the risk of bladder cancer (BCa) have demonstrated inconsistent results. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of the literature to investigate the association of alcohol including different types of alcoholic beverages consumption with the risk of BCa.

Materials and methods

A systematic search of Web of Science, Medline/PubMed and Cochrane library was performed in May 2018. Studies were considered eligible if they assessed the risk of BCa due to alcohol consumption (moderate or heavy dose) and different types of alcoholic beverages (moderate or heavy dose) in multivariable analysis in the general population (all genders, males or females) or compared with a control group of individuals without BCa. Study design: observational cohorts or case–control.

Results

Sixteen studies were included in this meta-analysis. Moderate and heavy alcohol consumption did not increase the risk of BCa in the entire population. Sub-group and sensitivity analyses revealed that heavy alcohol consumption increased significantly the risk of BCa in the Japanese population, RR 1.31 (95% CI 1.08–1.58, P < 0.01) in the multivariable analysis, and in males RR of 1.50 (95% CI 1.18–1.92, P < 0.01), with no significant statistical heterogeneity. Moreover, heavy consumption of spirits drinks increased the risk of BCa in males, RR 1.42 (95% CI 1.15–1.75, P < 0.01).

Conclusion

In this meta-analysis, moderate and heavy alcohol consumption did not increase the risk of bladder cancer significantly. However, heavy consumption of alcohol might increase the risk of BCa in males and in some specific populations.

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Acknowledgements

M.D.V had an EUSP lab/clinical fellowship awarded by EAU (European Association of Urology) and an Ernst Mach Grant awarded by OeAD, Austria.

Author information

Author notes

  1. Mihai Dorin Vartolomei and Takehiro Iwata equal contribution as first author.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Urology, Comprehensive Cancer Center, Vienna General Hospital, Medical University of Vienna, Währinger Gürtel 18-20, 1090, Vienna, Austria

    Mihai Dorin Vartolomei, Takehiro Iwata, Shoji Kimura, Romain Mathieu, Shahrokh F. Shariat & Christian Seitz

  2. Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Sciences and Technology, Targu Mures, Romania

    Mihai Dorin Vartolomei

  3. Department of Urology, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama, Japan

    Takehiro Iwata

  4. Department of Urology, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland

    Beat Roth

  5. Department of Urology, Jikei University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan

    Shoji Kimura

  6. Department of Urology, Rennes University Hospital, Rennes, France

    Romain Mathieu

  7. Division of Urology, European Institute of Oncology, Milan, Italy

    Matteo Ferro

  8. Department of Urology, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY, USA

    Shahrokh F. Shariat

  9. Department of Urology, Second Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic

    Shahrokh F. Shariat

  10. Institute for Urology and Reproductive Health, I.M. Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, Moscow, Russia

    Shahrokh F. Shariat

  11. Department of Urology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA

    Shahrokh F. Shariat

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  1. Mihai Dorin Vartolomei
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Contributions

Protocol/project development: MDV, TI, BR, SK, RM, MF, SFS, CS. Data collection or management: MDV, TI, BR, SK, RM, MF, SFS, CS. Data analysis: MDV, TI, BR, SK, RM, MF, SFS, CS. Manuscript writing/editing: MDV, TI, BR, SK, RM, MF, SFS, CS.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Shahrokh F. Shariat.

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Vartolomei, M.D., Iwata, T., Roth, B. et al. Impact of alcohol consumption on the risk of developing bladder cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis. World J Urol 37, 2313–2324 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00345-019-02825-4

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