Arsenic methylation and bladder cancer risk in case-control studies in Argentina and the United States.
OBJECTIVE
We sought to assess whether the metabolism of arsenic impacts a person's susceptibility to bladder cancer.


METHODS
Urinary methylation products were measured in subjects from Argentina (114 cases and 114 controls) and the United States (23 cases and 49 controls).


RESULTS
In Argentina, the adjusted odds ratio (OR) for subjects with a high proportion of ingested arsenic excreted as monomethylarsonate (%MMA) was 2.17 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.02-4.63) in smokers and 0.48 (95% CI = 0.17-1.33) in nonsmokers. In the United States, the adjusted ORs for high %MMA in subjects with arsenic intakes less than and greater than 100 microg/d were 1.20 (95% CI = 0.27-5.38) and 2.70 (95% CI = 0.39-18.6).


CONCLUSIONS
Overall, these results are consistent with data from Taiwan suggesting that some individuals who excrete a higher proportion of ingested arsenic as MMA are more susceptible to arsenic-related cancer.
Steinmaus
Craig
C
Arsenic Health Effects Research Program, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-7360, USA.
Bates
Michael N
MN
Yuan
Yan
Y
Kalman
Dave
D
Atallah
Raja
R
Rey
Omar A
OA
Biggs
Mary L
ML
Hopenhayn
Claudia
C
Moore
Lee E
LE
Hoang
Bruce K
BK
Smith
Allan H
AH