Chlorination Byproduct Exposure and Bladder Cancer Risk

CHF Grant 02780: Bladder Carcinogen Exposures in Pet Dogs

Publication:
Braman SL, Peterson H, Elbe A, et al. Urinary and household chemical exposures in pet dogs with urothelial cell carcinoma. Vet Comp Oncol. 2024; 1‐13. doi:10.1111/vco.12968

What can we learn?
To explore the link between environmental chemical exposure and cancer risk, investigators at the University of Wisconsin-Madison College of Veterinary Medicine examined exposure to and urinary concentrations of four cancer-causing chemicals in dogs: chlorination byproducts, inorganic arsenic, acrolein, and the herbicide 2,4-D. While they found no differences in exposure to arsenic, acrolein, or the herbicide, significant differences were seen in chlorination byproduct exposure between healthy and affected dogs. In fact, dogs with bladder cancer were more likely to swim in a chlorinated pool than healthy dogs. In addition, the concentration of chlorination byproducts reported in municipal tap water was four times higher in the zip codes where dogs with bladder cancer lived compared to those where healthy dogs lived. In combination with prior studies in humans and dogs, this data suggests that chlorination byproduct exposure may contribute to the risk of bladder cancer in dogs.

Conclusion:
Owners of dog breeds at high risk for bladder cancer should limit their dog’s access to chlorinated swimming pools and install water filtration units to remove chlorination byproducts from the dog’s drinking water.