Exposure to certain chemical substances in work environments could affect the appearance of lung, skin and bladder cancer
This finding, published in the prestigious magazine Toxics, could help prevention and determination of cancer risk factors in the workplace
The research group of Basic and Clinical Oncology of the Biosanitary Research Institute of Granada (ibs.GRANADA), proposes a series of biomarkers that can predict the adverse effects of exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (or PAH for its acronym in English).
PAHs are a group of more than 100 chemical substances formed during the incomplete combustion of organic materials, such as coal, oil and its derivatives, natural gas and wood. The exposure concerns workers in refineries, foundries and metallurgy, firefighters, cooks, or workers in activities related to asphalting and public works, as well as other human activities that are responsible for air pollution to PAH, which represents a additional risk to the general population.
For this team of scientists from Granada, who are specialists highly recognized internationally for their work on environmental contaminants, occupational exposure to PAHs is a matter of greatest interest. Mainly because these are toxic substances associated with various forms of cancer (lung, bladder and skin), with cardiovascular disorders and endocrine disruption, and because a large number of professionals are unknowingly exposed to PAH in the workplace. To date, the evaluation of human exposure to PAHs is not well established, nor has the real risk of impregnation been identified, since it is not known how individuals are exposed to both the work environment, nor what is the additional risk in relation to with their personal habits, such as smoking. In addition, there are no precise data on internal contamination (PAH levels and/or metabolites in blood or urine).
En Within the framework of the European Human Biomonitoring Action (HBM4EU), this group of researchers from ibs.GRANADA, from the San Cecilio Clinical University Hospital and the University of Granada, has selected some of the molecular markers (on cells, DNA and oxidative stress) that could serve as biomarkers of adverse effect, which will allow quantifying the damage induced by PAHs, regardless of the particular exposure of each worker and how this has occurred (occupational, environmental or linked to smoking).
In addition, a series of recommendations have been established on how the conventional monitoring of this exposure should be carried out, to which groups of workers it should be applied, which chemical compounds to measure and which sufficiently sensitive markers to include, to know if something serious for their health could be occurring, even without evidence of clinical signs.
In Spain, pollution in large cities is worrying, as is the particular case of Granada, due to traffic and heating, which together with smoking, contributes to the increased risk of developing lung cancer. But exposure via inhalation and dermal routes are more likely in the work environment, regardless of the individual protection measures that are observed. This work, which has been carried out in collaboration with Portuguese researchers, has denounced the special situation of forest firefighters in Portugal, whose exposure to PAH occurs both during the critical phases of the fire and during cooling tasks.
The results of this ibs.GRANADA study have once again shown that the combined effect of exposure to PAH and other toxins (cocktail effect) is a primary factor in increasing the risk of developing cancer. Exposure monitoring cannot be reduced to the measurement of one or two of the best-known PAHs, but it is necessary to quantify at least 16 markers, although it would be possible to make a smaller selection if the specific activity is well known. the one that each worker dedicates in his environment. In any case, they are convinced that the assessment of exposure to PAHs is clearly underestimated if the daily environment, both work and personal, is taken into account.
About the research group
The research group of Basic and Clinical Oncology of the ibs.GRANADA, led by Nicolás Olea, is a multidisciplinary team made up of clinical doctors, nurses, physiotherapists, biologists, chemists and environmentalists who join forces in the study of the environmental causes of common diseases and in the diagnosis and treatment of tumor diseases. Participation in the CIBER of Epidemiology and Public Health, (Labor and Environmental Epidemiology Area), the Childhood and Environment Network (INMA), the European Network for Biomonitoring of Environmental Exposure (HBM4EU and PARC), the Biobank Platform and the collaboration in the MCC-Spain and EPIC-Spain studies, provide guidance on the objectives of the group in the field of environmental epidemiology.
The lines of research in which they work are radiological diagnosis, environmental epidemiology, risk factors in chronic diseases, personalized medicine, tumor radiobiology and oncological treatments.
More information about the group at https://www.ibsgranada.es/grupos-de-investigacion/a15-oncologia-basica-y-clinica/
Reference: Louro H, Gomes BC, Saber AT, Iamiceli AL, Göen T, Jones K, Katsonouri A, Neophytou CM, Vogel U, Ventura C, Oberemm A, Duca RC, Fernandez MF, Olea N, Santonen T, Viegas S, Silva MJ. The Use of Human Biomonitoring to Assess Occupational Exposure to PAHs in Europe: A Comprehensive Review. Toxics. 2022;10(8):480. doi:10.3390/toxics10080480