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Bladder cancer and reproductive factors among women in Spain

Cancer Causes & Control volume 20, Article number: 1907 (2009) Cite this article

Abstract

Hormonal factors, possibly related to reproductive characteristics, may play a role in the risk of bladder cancer among women. To study this, we investigated the effects of reproductive factors on female bladder cancer risk. Information on reproductive and other risk factors was gathered in personal interviews from 152 female cases and 166 matched controls from 18 hospitals in five regions of Spain during 1998–2001. Logistic regression was used to estimate the association between bladder cancer and reproductive factors, including ever-parous status, age at first live birth, age at last live birth, age at menarche, age at menopause, menopausal status, and duration of menstruation. After adjustment for age, smoking, and high-risk occupation, ever-parous women were at decreased risk relative to nulliparous women (odds ratio = 0.43, 95% confidence interval = 0.21–0.87). There was no consistent pattern in risk with the age- or duration-related reproductive factors (e.g., age at first live birth, age at last live birth, age at menarche, age at menopause, menopausal status, and duration of menstruation) that we evaluated. Women have a lower risk of bladder cancer than men, and hormonal factors related to childbearing may play a role.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Mustafa Dosemeci (NCI, Bethesda, MD) and Francisco Real (Institut Municipal d’Investigació Mèdica and Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Spain) for their time and insightful comments, and Robert C. Saal (Westat, Rockville, MD) and Leslie Carroll and Eric Boyd (IMS, Silver Spring, MD) for their support in study and data management. This work was supported by the Intramural Research Program of the NIH, National Cancer Institute, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics [National Cancer Institute contract NO2-CP-11015].

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Affiliations

  1. Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD, USA

    An-Tsun Huang, Debra T. Silverman, Nathaniel Rothman & Kenneth P. Cantor

  2. Institut Municipal d’Investigació Mèdica, Barcelona, Spain

    Manolis Kogevinas & Nủria Malats

  3. Universidad de Oviedo, Oviedo, Spain

    Adonina Tardón

  4. CIBER Epidemiologia y Salud Publica (CIBERESP), Barcelona, Spain

    Adonina Tardón

  5. Unit of Research in Occupational Health, Universitat Pomeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain

    Consol Serra

  6. Corporació Parc Taulí, Sabadell, Spain

    Consol Serra

  7. Unidad de Investigación, Hospital Unversitaro de Canarias, La Laguna, Spain

    Reina García-Closas

  8. Hospital General de Elche, Elche, Spain

    Alfredo Carrato

Authors
  1. An-Tsun Huang
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  2. Manolis Kogevinas
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  3. Debra T. Silverman
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  4. Nủria Malats
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  5. Nathaniel Rothman
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  6. Adonina Tardón
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  7. Consol Serra
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  8. Reina García-Closas
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  9. Alfredo Carrato
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  10. Kenneth P. Cantor
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Correspondence to An-Tsun Huang.

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Huang, AT., Kogevinas, M., Silverman, D.T. et al. Bladder cancer and reproductive factors among women in Spain. Cancer Causes Control 20, 1907 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10552-009-9384-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10552-009-9384-1

Keywords

  • Bladder cancer
  • Reproductive factors
  • Ever-parous
  • Women