Dietary Factors and Bladder Cancer Risk

Bladder cancer is among the most common genitourinary malignancies worldwide, with established risk factors including tobacco use, occupational exposures and age. Diet has emerged as a potentially modifiable influence on bladder carcinogenesis, operating through multiple mechanisms such as modulation of oxidative stress, inflammation and the activation or detoxification of carcinogenic compounds. High intake of fruits and vegetables supplies antioxidants and phytochemicals that may scavenge free radicals and inhibit tumour initiation, whereas red and processed meats can generate heterocyclic amines and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons during high‐temperature cooking, promoting DNA damage. Micronutrients such as vitamins D and C have been investigated for roles in cell proliferation and immune regulation, although associations remain inconsistent. Dietary patterns, exemplified by the Mediterranean diet, combine protective elements—fruits, vegetables, whole grains, olive oil—and have been linked to lower bladder cancer incidence. Understanding the interplay between individual nutrients, food groups and overall dietary patterns is critical for developing evidence‐based nutritional guidelines to reduce bladder cancer risk and support patient recovery.

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Dietary Factors and Bladder Cancer Risk publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in dietary factors and bladder cancer risk across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Prospective cohort study: An observational design in which a group of individuals is followed over time to assess the incidence of an outcome in relation to exposure factors.

Case–control study: A retrospective design comparing individuals with a disease (cases) to those without (controls) to identify factors associated with disease occurrence.

Hazard ratio (HR): A measure of how often a particular event happens in one group compared to another, over time.

Odds ratio (OR): A statistic that quantifies the odds of an outcome occurring in one group relative to another.

Inverse association: A relationship in which higher exposure to a factor corresponds to a lower risk of the outcome.

References

1. Dietary vitamin D intake and the bladder cancer risk: A pooled analysis of prospective cohort studies. Clinical Nutrition (2023).
2. Fruits and vegetables intake and bladder cancer risk: a pooled analysis from 11 case–control studies in the BLadder cancer Epidemiology and Nutritional Determinants (BLEND) consortium. European Journal of Nutrition (2024).
3. An inverse association between the Mediterranean diet and bladder cancer risk: a pooled analysis of 13 cohort studies. European Journal of Nutrition (2019).
4. Red and processed meat consumption and risk of bladder cancer: a dose–response meta-analysis of epidemiological studies. European Journal of Nutrition (2016).
5. Genesis and Mechanism of Some Cancer Types and an Overview on the Role of Diet and Nutrition in Cancer Prevention. Molecules (2022).
6. The Impact of Meat Intake on Bladder Cancer Incidence: Is It Really a Relevant Risk?. Cancers (2022).