Received June 27, 2007
Accepted on November 6, 2007

CLINICAL EPIDEMIOLOGY

Association of Albuminuria and Cancer Incidence

Lone Jørgensen ^*1, Ivar Heuch , Trond Jenssen , and Bjarne K. Jacobsen ^*

*Institute of Community Medicine and Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Tromsø, Tromsø, Department of Mathematics, University of Bergen, Bergen, and Medical Department, Division of Nephrology, Rikshospitalet, Oslo, Norway

¹ To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: lone.jorgensen{at}ism.uit.no.

	Abstract

Albuminuria, which is associated with noncardiovascular mortality, might be a result of altered vascular permeability caused by cytokines and other tumor cell products. The aim of this population-based, longitudinal study was to examine whether elevated albumin-to-creatinine ratio (ACR) is associated with cancer incidence. A total of 5425 participants without diabetes or previous cancer in the Tromsø Study were followed; 590 had a first diagnosis of cancer during 10.3 yr of follow-up. The ACR at baseline significantly correlated with the incidence of cancer, even after adjustment for age, gender, body mass index, physical activity, and smoking (P < 0.001). Participants with ACR in the highest quintile were 8.3- and 2.4-fold more likely to receive a diagnosis of bladder cancer and lung cancer, respectively, compared with those with ACR in the lowest quintile after similar adjustments. It is concluded that albuminuria is associated with cancer incidence in individuals without a history of diabetes, macroalbuminuria, or previous cancer and that it might confer risks of varying magnitude for different types of cancer.