Biochemical epidemiology of bladder cancer

Cooperation between epidemiology and the laboratory represents a promising perspective for the understanding of the carcinogenic process. We describe three collaborative investigations involving the use of markers of internal dose (in particular, hemoglobin adducts) and markers of individual susceptibility in the study of bladder cancer induction by tobacco smoke. These investigations suggest that (a) hemoglobin adducts formed by aromatic amines are a valid indicator of "biologically effective" internal dose and (b) genetically determined susceptibility due to metabolic polymorphism may play a role in chemically induced bladder cancer.