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. 2020 Apr 29;17(9):3105.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph17093105.

Arsenic Exposure and Risk of Urothelial Cancer: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Pamela Di Giovanni  1 , Giuseppe Di Martino  2 , Piera Scampoli  3 , Fabrizio Cedrone  3 , Francesca Meo  3 , Giuseppe Lucisano  4 , Ferdinando Romano  5 , Tommaso Staniscia  2
Affiliations

Arsenic Exposure and Risk of Urothelial Cancer: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Pamela Di Giovanni et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

Background: Arsenic is a toxic metalloid element widely distributed throughout the environment. Arsenic contaminated water has become an ongoing public health issue affecting hundred million people worldwide. The aim of this paper was to summarize the evidence in the association between arsenic metabolites and urinary tract cancer risk. Methods: A systematic review was conducted searching for observational studies that evaluated the association of arsenic metabolites and urinary tract cancer. Risk estimates from individual studies were pooled by using random effects models. Results: All the metabolites considered in this study resulted to be significantly associated to urothelial cancer, respectively: IA% 3.51 (1.21-5.82) (p = 0.003), MMA with WMD = 2.77 (1.67-3.87) (p < 0.001) and DMA with WMD = -4.56 (-7.91-1.22) (p = 0.008). Conclusions: Arsenic metabolites are significantly associated to urothelial cancer. Future studies will help to verify the independent association(s) between arsenic metabolites and urothelial cancer.

Keywords: arsenic; drinking water; meta-analysis; urothelial cancer.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flowchart of the study selection.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Forest-plot of weighted mean differences in arsenic metabolites between cases and control.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Forest-plot of association between arsenic metabolites distribution and urothelial cancer.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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