AUTHOR=Han Chao , Wang Juan , Chen Ya-Li , Guan Cui-Ping , Zhang Yan-An , Wang Mao-Shui 

TITLE=The role of Bacillus Calmette-Guérin administration on the risk of dementia in bladder cancer patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience

VOLUME=Volume 15 - 2023

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/aging-neuroscience/articles/10.3389/fnagi.2023.1243588

DOI=10.3389/fnagi.2023.1243588

ISSN=1663-4365

ABSTRACT=Previous cohort studies have found an association between Bacillus Calmette-Gué rin (BCG) administration and incident dementia. In the systematic review and meta-analysis, we aimed to summarize the current evidence of the effect of BCG use on the risk of developing dementia.We searched six databases until May 20, 2023 for studies investigating the risk of dementia and BCG administration. Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were pooled in the meta-analysis.Meta-regression, subgroup, and sensitivity analysis were conducted as well.Of the 4043 records initially evaluated, five articles were included for final analysis, with a total of 45,407 bladder cancer (BC) patients. All five studies were evaluated with a high quality and a low possibility of publication bias was indicated. A significant association between BCG and the incidence of dementia in BC patients was found in all five studies. Although a high heterogeneity (I 2 =84.5%, p<0.001) was observed, the pooled HR was 0.55 (0.42-0.73), indicating that BCG exposure or treatment reduced the risk of incident dementia by 45%. Besides, the sensitivity analysis showed well robustness of the overall effect with no serious publication bias.BCG administration is associated with a significantly lower risk of developing dementia. However, further epidemiological cohort is needed to establish a relationship between BCG use and incident dementia in normal population. Once the relationship is confirmed, more people may benefit from the association.