ibs.GRANADA scientists identify a possible link between exposure to chemical pollutants and the risk of non-hormone-dependent cancer
The research found that certain chemical pollutants accumulated in the fat of people are related to higher levels of oxidative stress and the risk of developing non-hormone-dependent cancer
This work, coordinated by the Preventive Medicine and Public Health research group of the Biosanitary Research Institute of Granada (ibs.GRANADA) and the University of Granada, is part of the GraMo Study, carried out in a cohort of adults from the Granada province. Between 2003 and 2004, samples of adipose (fat) tissue were collected from all the participants, closely monitoring the clinical evolution of the participants during the following 16 years.
This team of researchers from Granada has observed that certain chemical pollutants that tend to accumulate in adipose tissue, such as pesticides and industrial chemical compounds, are associated with an increased risk of non-hormone-dependent cancer, that is, those tumors that do not depend so much on levels hormonal. Specifically, these compounds include certain polychlorinated biphenyls, as well as pesticides such as hexachlorobenzene and a component of lindane (β-hexachlorocyclohexane). In addition, this group of scientists from the Epidemiology and Public Health area of ibs.GRANADA has observed that the concentrations of these pollutants are associated with high levels of oxidative stress in the adipose tissue itself, an imbalance that occurs in cells when the free radicals and/or decrease antioxidants, which can cause tissue damage that results in the development of long-term diseases, including cancer.
“Our mediation analyzes suggest that exposure to relatively low doses of these chemical compounds continuously over time (something common in the general population) could contribute to the development of non-hormone-dependent tumors, such as gastrointestinal, brain or lung, possibly through of an alteration of the oxidative balance, among other mechanisms. Given the enormous importance of these pathologies, it is necessary to delve deeper into the subject through future studies”, explains Dr. Juan Pedro Arrebola, coordinator of the study and researcher at the Biosanitary Research Institute of Granada and the Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health. from the University of Granada.
The pollutants studied, despite being currently prohibited, are still present in almost all people, since they are very difficult to degrade. In addition, we continue to be exposed to them through the diet, mainly those people with a high consumption of very fatty foods of animal origin. The research team is currently studying whether co-exposure with other families of pollutants could contribute to this problem.
These findings have been published in the prestigious journal Environmental Science & Technology, and are part of the postdoctoral work of Dr. Vicente Mustieles and the doctoral thesis of Francisco Miguel Pérez Carrascosa.
The GraMo study is being developed by a multidisciplinary team made up of researchers from various prestigious institutions, some of them integrated into ibs.GRANADA, such as the University of Granada, the Virgen de las Nieves University Hospital, the San Cecilio Clinical University Hospital, the Santa Ana de Motril Hospital, the Andalusian School of Public Health, the Miguel Hernández University of Elche, the University of Malaga, and the Carlos III Health Institute, and other international ones such as the Bispebjerg University Hospital and Rigshospitalet (Denmark), the Slovenian National Building and Civil Engineering Institute (Slovenia), and the National Institute for Health and Medical Research (INSERM, France).
About the research group
The ibs.GRANADA Preventive Medicine and Public Health research group, led by Dr. Jose Juan Jiménez Moleón, is a multidisciplinary team made up of researchers with training in the field of epidemiology and statistics applied to health sciences. His lines of research are closely linked to the main current public health problems in the Spanish population: cancer, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, as well as the epidemiology of traffic injuries. Most of his studies are focused on understanding the epidemiology of health problems of interest and associated factors from a health prevention and promotion point of view.
More information about the group in https://www.ibsgranada.es/grupos-de-investigacion/e14-medicina-preventiva-y-salud-publica/
Reference:
Mustieles V, Pérez-Carrascosa FM, León J, Lange T, Bonde JP, Gómez-Peña C, Artacho-Cordón F, Barrios-Rodríguez R, Olmedo-Requena R, Expósito J, Jiménez-Moleón JJ, Arrebola JP. Adipose Tissue Redox Microenvironment as a Potential Link between Persistent Organic Pollutants and the 16-Year Incidence of Non-hormone-Dependent Cancer. Environ SciTechnol. 2021 Jul 20;55(14):9926-9937. doi: 10.1021/acs.est.0c08180.