Low Folate Levels Linked to Bladder Cancer 39481

Low Folate Levels Linked to Bladder Cancer

HOUSTON--Researchers from the University of Texas reportedindividuals have a three-fold risk for developing bladder cancer if they areespecially susceptible to genetic damage to their cells and do not consumeenough dietary folate. The study was to be presented April 8 at the annualmeeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), but the meetingwas cancelled due to the concern of SARS. However, the information is availableonline in the March edition of the Proceedings of the AACR (http://aacr03.agora.com/planner).

The study's authors, led by Xifeng Wu, M.D., Ph.D., worked off the knowledgethat folate deficiency is associated with cytogenetic damage and mutations, withan increased risk for DNA strand breakage and chromosomal aberrations. Using anongoing case-control study, researchers collected epidemiological data on 272newly diagnosed and untreated bladder cancer cases, in addition to data on 257healthy controls.

The controls reported a statistically higher intake of dietary folatecompared to the bladder cancer group; in addition, researchers observed a linkbetween DNA damage and low folate intake. Also, those with high folate intakeand a large number of select DNA repair polymorphisms had a lower incidence ofbladder cancer than those with low levels of both folate and DNA repairpolymorphisms.

Matthew Schabath, a predoctoral researcher and study author, said the body'sability to fix errant changes in DNA is critical in maintaining normal geneticstructure. "A good prevention practice would be to limit exposure to DNAdamaging agents and to eat foods containing folic acid . to reduce the risk ofdeveloping bladder cancer," he said.