Clinical-Bladder cancer: Arsenic exposure is associated with significant upper tract urothelial carcinoma health care needs and elevated mortality rates
Date
2020
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Article
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Abstract
Purpose: The aim of the study was to assess upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC) health care needs and specific mortality rates in an arsenic-exposed region in Northern Chile and compare them to those of the rest of the country.
Material and methods: Arsenic levels of drinking water were correlated with UTUC hospital discharges and cancer-specific mortality rates. Mortality and hospital admission rate ratios were estimated using a Poisson regression model.
Results: There were 257 UTUC-specific deaths in Chile between 1990 and 2016; 81 (34%) of them occurred in Antofagasta, where only 3.5% of the population lives. The peak mortality rate observed in Antofagasta was 2.15/100,000 compared to 0.07/100,000 in the rest of the country. Mortality in the exposed region was significantly higher when compared to the rest of the country (MRR 17.6; 95%CI: 13.5-22.9). The same trend was observed for UTUC hospital discharges (RR 14.8; 95%CI: 11.5-19.1).
Conclusion: Even stronger than for bladder cancer, exposure to arsenic is related to a significant need for UTUC health care and high mortality rates, even 25 years after having controlled arsenic levels in drinking-water. Awareness of this ecologic factor in these affected regions is therefore mandatory.
Description
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Citation
Urologic Oncology, Seminars and Original Investigations 000 (2020) 1-7
Keywords
Arsenic, Carcinoma, Transitional cell, Mortality, Urologic neoplasms, Health services needs and demand