We investigated the association of urinary bladder cancer with genetic polymorphisms in the xeroderma pigmentosum complementation group C (XPC), group D (XPD) and group G (XPG), X-ray repair cross-complementing group 1 (XRCC1) and group 3 (XRCC3), Nijmegen breakage syndrome 1 (NBS1), cyclin D1, methylene-tetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR), NAD(P)H dehydrogenase quinone 1 (NQO1), H-ras and glutathione S-transferase theta 1 (GSTT1) genes. Bladder cancer patients from the different hospitals in Stockholm County Council area and matching controls were genotyped for different polymorphisms. The frequency of the variant allele for A/C polymorphism in exon 15 of the XPC gene was significantly higher in the bladder cancer cases than in the controls (OR 1.49, 95% CI 1.16-1.92, P = 0.001). The variant allele homozygote genotype for the T/C polymorphism in exon 1 of the H-ras gene was associated with a decreased risk for bladder cancer (OR 0.12, 95% CI 0.02-0.67, P = 0.006). The variant allele genotypes for the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in DNA repair genes, XPG and NBS1, showed a marginal association with the occurrence of bladder cancer (OR 0.38, 95% CI 0.15-0.94, P = 0.03 and OR 1.64, 95% CI 0.92-2.90, P = 0.09, respectively). We also report a positive correlation between the null homozygote of GSTT1 with the risk of bladder cancer (OR 2.54, 95% CI 1.32-4.98, P = 0.003). For other polymorphisms included in this study, NBS1 Glu185Gln, XPD Lys751Gln, XPG Asp1104His, XRCC1 Arg399Gln, XRCC3 Thr241Met, cyclin D1 Pro242Pro, MTHFR Ala222Val and Glu429Ala, NQO1 Arg139Trp and Pro187Ser, no significant differences for genotype distributions and allele frequencies between the bladder cancer cases and the controls were observed in the present study.

An increasing incidence of testicular cancer has been reported from several countries in the Western world during the last decades. According to current hypothesis, testicular cancer is initiated during the fetal period, and exposure to endocrine disruptors, i.e., xenoestrogens, has been of concern. In this investigation we studied the concentrations of the sum of 38 polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), p,p´-dichlorodiphenyl-dichloroethylene, hexachlorobenzene (HCB), and chlordanes, in 61 cases with testicular cancer and 58 age-matched controls. Furthermore, case and control mothers were also asked to participate, and 44 case mothers and 45 control mothers agreed. They were of similar age. In cases only the concentration on lipid basis of cis-nonachlordane was significantly increased, whereas case mothers showed significantly increased concentrations of the sum of PCBs, HCB, trans-and cis-nonachlordane, and the sum of chlordanes. Among case mothers the sum of PCBs yielded an odds ratio (OR) of 3.8; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.4-10 was calculated using the median concentration for the control mothers as cutoff value. For HCB, OR = 4.4 (95% CI, 1.7-12); for trans-nonachlordane, OR = 4.1 (95% CI, 1.5-11); for cis-nonachlordane, OR = 3.1 (95% CI, 1.2-7.8); and for sum of chlordanes, OR = 1.9 (95% CI, 0.7-5.0). No consistent different risk pattern was found for seminoma or nonseminoma testicular cancer.

One course of adjuvant BEP reduces the risk of relapse by approximately 90% in both VASC+ and VASC- CS1 NSGCT, and may be a new option as initial treatment for all CS1 NSGCT. One course of adjuvant BEP for VASC+ CS1 reduces the total burden of chemotherapy compared with surveillance or two courses of BEP. SWENOTECA currently recommends one course of BEP as standard treatment of VASC+ CS1 NSGCT, whereas both surveillance and one course of BEP are options for VASC- CS1 NSGCT.

Therapy with BCG was superior to mitomycin C for recurrence prophylaxis but no difference was found for progression and survival.

An increasing incidence of testicular cancer has been reported from several western countries during the last decades. According to current hypothesis testicular cancer is initiated during the foetal period and exposure to endocrine disruptors such as some persistent organic pollutants has been of concern. We have previously reported the results for concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), p,p'-dichlorodiphenyl-dichloroethylene (pp'-DDE), hexachlorobenzene (HCB) and chlordanes in 58 cases with testicular cancer, 61 age-matched controls and 44 case mothers and 45 control mothers. In that report, significant increase of odds ratio (OR) was found for sum of PCBs, HCB, trans- and cis-nonachlordane in case mothers. These data have now been further analysed for 37 congeners of PCBs. No significant differences were found among cases and controls. However, case mothers had significantly increased concentrations of a number of PCB congeners. A priori decided grouping of PCBs yielded for oestrogenic PCBs OR = 2.4, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.95-6.0, enzyme-inducing PCBsOR = 2.6, 95% CI = 1.03-6.5 and toxic equivalents (TEQ) yielded OR = 3.3, 95% CI = 1.3-8.4. These data further elucidate the role of foetal exposure to different PCB congeners in the aetiology of testicular cancer.