Assessing Heavy Metal and PCB Exposure from Tap Water by Measuring Levels in Plasma from Sporadic Breast Cancer Patients, a Pilot Study

Anne Marie Zimeri, Sara Wagner Robb, Sayed M. Hassan, Rupali R. Hire and Melissa B. Davis
Additional contact information
Anne Marie Zimeri: Department of Environmental Health Sciences, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
Sara Wagner Robb: Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
Sayed M. Hassan: Laboratory for Environmental Analysis, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
Rupali R. Hire: Department of Genetics, Medical Partnership, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA; Davidson Life Sciences Building, 120 East Green St., Athens, GA 30602, USA
Melissa B. Davis: Department of Genetics, Medical Partnership, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA; Davidson Life Sciences Building, 120 East Green St., Athens, GA 30602, USA

IJERPH, 2015, vol. 12, issue 12, 1-9

Abstract: Breast cancer (BrCA) is the most common cancer affecting women around the world. However, it does not arise from the same causative agent among all women. Genetic markers have been associated with heritable or familial breast cancers, which may or may not be confounded by environmental factors, whereas sporadic breast cancer cases are more likely attributable to environmental exposures. Approximately 85% of women diagnosed with BrCA have no family history of the disease. Given this overwhelming bias, more plausible etiologic mechanisms should be investigated to accurately assess a woman’s risk of acquiring breast cancer. It is known that breast cancer risk is highly influenced by exogenous environmental cues altering cancer genes either by genotoxic mechanisms (DNA mutations) or otherwise. Risk assessment should comprehensively incorporate exposures to exogenous factors that are linked to a woman’s individual susceptibility. However, the exact role that some environmental agents (EA) play in tumor formation and/or cancer gene regulation is unclear. In this pilot project, we begin a multi-disciplinary approach to investigate the intersection of environmental exposures, cancer gene response, and BrCA risk. Here, we present data that show environmental exposure to heavy metals and PCBs in drinking water, heavy metal presence in plasma of nine patients with sporadic BrCA, and Toxic Release Inventory and geological data for a metal of concern, uranium, in Northeast Georgia.

Keywords: sporadic breast cancer; PCBs; heavy metals; uranium (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/12/12/15013/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/12/12/15013/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:12:y:2015:i:12:p:15013-15691:d:60325

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().