Lifetime Carcinogenic Risk Proportions from Inhalation Exposures in Industrial and Non-Industrial Regions

The aim of this work was to estimate the share of selected significant risk factors for respiratory cancer in the overall incidence of this disease and their comparison in two environmentally different burdened regions. A combination of a longitudinal cross-sectional population study with a US EPA health risk assessment methodology was used. The result of this procedure is the expression of lifelong carcinogenic risks and their contribution in the overall incidence of the disease. Compared to exposures to benzo[a]pyrene in the air and fibrogenic dust in the working air, several orders of magnitude higher share of the total incidence of respiratory cancer was found in radon exposures, for women 60% in the industrial area, respectively 100% in the non-industrial area, for men 24%, respectively 15%. The share of risks in workers exposed to fibrogenic dust was found to be 0.35% in the industrial area. For benzo[a]pyrene, the share of risks was below 1% and the share of other risk factors was in the monitored areas was up to 85%. The most significant share in the development of respiratory cancer in both monitored areas is represented by radon for women and other risk factors for men.

COVID-19 and Cancer: Discovery of Difference in Clinical Immune Indexes

Objective. This study explored the consistency and differences in the immune cells and cytokines between patients with COVID-19 or cancer. We further analyzed the correlations between the acute inflammation and cancer-related immune disorder. Methods. This retrospective study involved 167 COVID-19 patients and 218 cancer patients. COVID-19 and cancer were each further divided into two subgroups. Quantitative and qualitative variables were measured by one-way ANOVA and chi-square test, respectively. Herein, we carried out a correlation analysis between immune cells and cytokines and used receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves to discover the optimal diagnostic index. Results. COVID-19 and cancers were associated with lymphopenia and high levels of monocytes, neutrophils, IL-6, and IL-10. IL-2 was the optimal indicator to differentiate the two diseases. Compared with respiratory cancer patients, COVID-19 patients had lower levels of IL-2 and higher levels of CD3+CD4+ T cells and CD19+ B cells. In the subgroup analysis, IL-6 was the optimal differential diagnostic parameter that had the ability to identify if COVID-19 patients would be severely affected, and severe COVID-19 patients had lower levels of lymphocyte subsets (CD3+ T cells, CD3+CD4+ T cells, CD3+CD8+T cells, and CD19+ B cells) and CD16+CD56+ NK cells and higher level of neutrophils. There were significant differences in the levels of CD3+CD4+ T cells and CD19+ B cells between T1-2 and T3-4 stages as well as IL-2 and CD19+ B cells between N0-1 and N2-3 stages while no significant differences between the metastatic and nonmetastatic cancer patients. Additionally, there were higher correlations between IL-2 and IL-4, TNF-α and IL-2, TNF-α and IL-4, TNF-α and IFN-γ, and CD16+CD56+NK cells and various subsets of T cells in COVID-19 patients. There was a higher correlation between CD3+CD4+ T cells and CD19+ B cells in cancer patients. Conclusion. Inflammation associated with COVID-19 or cancer had effects on patients’ outcomes. Accompanied by changes in immune cells and cytokines, there were consistencies, differences, and satisfactory correlations between patients with COVID-19 and those with cancers.

Sources of Risk to the Health of the Population, by Inhalation of PM2.5 in the Toluca Valley, Mexico

Introduction: PM2.5 air pollution causes death and morbidity in populations, 4.2 million premature deaths have been reported worldwide per year and can cause cardiovascular, respiratory, cancer, among other diseases. As a result, it is important to know the sources that produce them.Objective: Determine the possible Sources of Risk (SR) to health, by inhalation of Elemental Chemical Composition (EQC) obtained from PM2.5 samples in the Toluca Valley (TV).Method: Sampling was carried out (26/11/16-14/03/18) in San Mateo Atenco, Ceboruco, Nueva Oxtotitlán, San Lorenzo Tepaltitlán, Zinacantepec and San Cristóbal Huichochitlán, using medium volume equipment every six days for 24 hours. It was calculated: gravimetry, analysis by atomic technique PIXE (Proton Induced X-Ray Emission) to obtain the EQC. The emission sources were determined with multivariate analysis, the elemental risk for three sensitive classes of the population and their possible sources of risk. Results: The SRs determined: Dust-Soil, Industry, Hydrocarbons, Vehicle, Burn-Fuels, Fine Gravimetric Mass, Coal burning, Metallurgy and Sulphates. Discussion: The SRs with the highest values, for sensitive populations, were Industry and Dust-Soil, this as a consequence of the large number of existing industries that produce EQC. Conclusion: The risks of inhalation of EQC present in PM2.5 for sampling sites were high, because of this there is a high probability of contracting some diseases that can be caused by EQC. The risk determined for sources in the ZMTV, to date, does not exist in similar research in the literature.

ASSESSMENT OF SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC DAMAGE ASSOCIATED WITH MORTALITY FROM RESPIRATORY CANCER IN THE TOMSK REGION (2005–2016)

Introduction. A significant component in the system analysis of anti-cancer activities is the assessment of the impact of mortality on life expectancy, which indicates the social and economic situation in the region.Material and methods. The economic damage caused by laryngeal and lung cancer mortality in the Tomsk region for the period 2005–2016 was analyzed using the database of the regional cancer registry and local agency of federal state statistics service of the tomsk region.Results. The loss of the male working population ranged from 106.0 (2012–2013) to 161.5 (2008–2009) person/years of lifetime from larynx cancer and from 1058.5 (2013–2014) to 1576.3 (2006–2007) person/years of lifetime from lung cancer. The female working population lost up to 34.0 (2013–2014) person/years of lifetime due to mortality from larynx cancer and from 1445.3 (2005–2006) to 2553.9 (2015–2016) person/years of lifetime from lung cancer. The average number of undelivered years in working age due to the premature death of one man averaged 6.1 ± 2.0 years from larynx cancer and 11.1 ± 1.3 from lung cancer, one woman averaged 4.6 ± 0.9 years from larynx cancer and 6.2 ± 0.3 years from lung cancer. Economic losses associated with mortality from cancer of the respiratory system amounted to 2.251.97 million rubles: 202.07 million rubles from laryngeal cancer and 2.049.90 million rubles from lung cancer.Conclusion. The quantitative analysis of social and economic losses associated with mortality from cancer of the respiratory system enables the regional health authorities to develop and implement anti-cancer interventions to maximize the use of funds for the prevention, treatment and rehabilitation of cancer patients.

Reproductive Pattern of Parous Women and The Risk of Cancer in Later Life

We assessed the risk of any and site-specific cancers in a case-control study of parous women living in northeast Scotland in relation to: total number of pregnancies, cumulative time pregnant, age at first delivery and interpregnancy interval. We analysed 6430 women with cancer and 6430 age-matched controls. After adjustment for confounders, women with increasing number of pregnancies had similar odds of cancer diagnosis as women with only one pregnancy. The adjusted odds of cancer diagnosis were no higher in women with cumulative pregnancy time 50–150 weeks compared to those pregnant ≤ 50 weeks. Compared with women who had their first delivery at or before 20 years of age, the adjusted odds ratio (AOR) among those aged 21–25 years was 0.81, 95% CI 0.74, 0.88; 26–30 years AOR 0.77, 95% CI 0.69, 0.86; >30 years AOR 0.63, 95% CI 0.55, 0.73. After adjustment, the odds of having any cancer were higher in women who had an inter-pregnancy interval >3 years compared to those with no subsequent pregnancy (AOR 1.17, 95% CI 1.05, 1.30). Older age at first pregnancy was associated with increased risk of breast and gastrointestinal cancer, and reduced risk of invasive cervical, carcinoma in situ of the cervix and respiratory cancer.

Analysis of Respiratory Tract Cancer: A Population-Based Study

Cancer is one of the main causes of mortality in Brazil and in the world. Respiratory cancer is one of the most expressive fractions. It is important to study its incidence and try to correlate its association with behavioral factors in big urban centers such as the ABC region in Sao Paulo. This paper focuses on analyzing and comparing the incidence of respiratory tract cancers in the population of the ABC region and their respective correlations with the state of Sao Paulo and Southeast region. This is an ecological observational study with temporal analysis, using secondary data referring to hospital admissions for cancer of the larynx, trachea, and lung in the ABC region from 2008 to 2017. In the ABC region, the female sex showed a greater increase in older age groups. Sao Paulo showed a significant increase for both genders in the age group over 60 years old. Southeast region showed the greatest significant variation, with the male gender decreasing in the younger age groups and increasing in the older age groups, while the female is increasing in older age groups. Airway cancers in the younger age groups for both males and females are decreasing in all regions analyzed. For older age groups, numbers are increasing especially in the ABC region. The most important correlation found in this study is an increase in the number of cases of these diseases in women compared to men, which may suggest that females have increased their tobacco consumption, while men appear to be decreasing.