• Department of Urology, The First Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China. drxuxin@zju.edu.cn.

BACKGROUND: The association between processed meat intake and bladder cancer risk has been evaluated by several observational studies with inconsistent results.

METHODS: In a cohort of 101,721 subjects in the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian (PLCO) Cancer Screening Trial, we analyzed the association of processed meat intake with bladder cancer risk.

RESULTS: After a median of 12.5 years of follow-up, 776 new cases of bladder cancer were identified. Intake of processed red meat was significantly associated with the incidence of bladder cancer after multivariate adjustment [highest vs. lowest quintile: HR, 1.47; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.12-1.93; P_trend = 0.008]. In contrast, there was only a suggestive but not significant association between intake of total processed meat and bladder cancer risk after multivariable adjustment (highest vs. lowest quintile: HR, 1.16; 95% CI, 0.89-1.50; P_trend = 0.073).

CONCLUSIONS: This large prospective study suggests that intake of processed red meat is associated with a higher risk of bladder cancer.

IMPACT: Bladder cancer risk is increased with cumulative intake of processed red meat.