Biomaterial Database

Increased lung and bladder cancer incidence in adults after in utero and early-life arsenic exposure. 2014

Craig Steinmaus, and Catterina Ferreccio, and Johanna Acevedo, and Yan Yuan, and Jane Liaw, and Viviana Durán, and Susana Cuevas, and José García, and Rodrigo Meza, and Rodrigo Valdés, and Gustavo Valdés, and Hugo Benítez, and Vania VanderLinde, and Vania Villagra, and Kenneth P Cantor, and Lee E Moore, and Saida G Perez, and Scott Steinmaus, and Allan H Smith

Arsenic Health Effects Research Program, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley; Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, California Environmental Protection Agency, Oakland; craigs@berkeley.edu.

BACKGROUND From 1958 to 1970, >100,000 people in northern Chile were exposed to a well-documented, distinct period of high drinking water arsenic concentrations. We previously reported ecological evidence suggesting that early-life exposure in this population resulted in increased mortality in adults from several outcomes, including lung and bladder cancer. METHODS We have now completed the first study ever assessing incident cancer cases after early-life arsenic exposure, and the first study on this topic with individual participant exposure and confounding factor data. Subjects included 221 lung and 160 bladder cancer cases diagnosed in northern Chile from 2007 to 2010, and 508 age and gender-matched controls. RESULTS ORs adjusted for age, sex, and smoking in those only exposed in early life to arsenic water concentrations of ≤110, 110 to 800, and >800 μg/L were 1.00, 1.88 [95% confidence interval (CI), 0.96-3.71], and 5.24 (3.05-9.00; P(trend) < 0.001) for lung cancer, and 1.00, 2.94 (1.29-6.70), and 8.11 (4.31-15.25; P(trend) < 0.001) for bladder cancer. ORs were lower in those not exposed until adulthood. The highest category (>800 μg/L) involved exposures that started 49 to 52 years before, and ended 37 to 40 years before the cancer cases were diagnosed. CONCLUSIONS Lung and bladder cancer incidence in adults was markedly increased following exposure to arsenic in early life, even up to 40 years after high exposures ceased. Such findings have not been identified before for any environmental exposure, and suggest that humans are extraordinarily susceptible to early-life arsenic exposure. CONCLUSIONS Policies aimed at reducing early-life exposure may help reduce the long-term risks of arsenic-related disease.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D008175	Lung Neoplasms	Tumors or cancer of the LUNG.	Cancer of Lung,Lung Cancer,Pulmonary Cancer,Pulmonary Neoplasms,Cancer of the Lung,Neoplasms, Lung,Neoplasms, Pulmonary,Cancer, Lung,Cancer, Pulmonary,Cancers, Lung,Cancers, Pulmonary,Lung Cancers,Lung Neoplasm,Neoplasm, Lung,Neoplasm, Pulmonary,Pulmonary Cancers,Pulmonary Neoplasm
D008297	Male		Males
D008875	Middle Aged	An adult aged 45 - 64 years.	Middle Age
D011247	Pregnancy	The status during which female mammals carry their developing young (EMBRYOS or FETUSES) in utero before birth, beginning from FERTILIZATION to BIRTH.	Gestation,Pregnancies
D011297	Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects	The consequences of exposing the FETUS in utero to certain factors, such as NUTRITION PHYSIOLOGICAL PHENOMENA; PHYSIOLOGICAL STRESS; DRUGS; RADIATION; and other physical or chemical factors. These consequences are observed later in the offspring after BIRTH.	Delayed Effects, Prenatal Exposure,Late Effects, Prenatal Exposure
D001749	Urinary Bladder Neoplasms	Tumors or cancer of the URINARY BLADDER.	Bladder Cancer,Bladder Neoplasms,Cancer of Bladder,Bladder Tumors,Cancer of the Bladder,Malignant Tumor of Urinary Bladder,Neoplasms, Bladder,Urinary Bladder Cancer,Bladder Cancers,Bladder Neoplasm,Bladder Tumor,Cancer, Bladder,Cancer, Urinary Bladder,Neoplasm, Bladder,Neoplasm, Urinary Bladder,Tumor, Bladder,Tumors, Bladder,Urinary Bladder Neoplasm
D002677	Chile	A country in southern South America, bordering the South Pacific Ocean, between Argentina and Peru.
D004781	Environmental Exposure	The exposure to potentially harmful chemical, physical, or biological agents in the environment or to environmental factors that may include ionizing radiation, pathogenic organisms, or toxic chemicals.	Exposure, Environmental,Environmental Exposures,Exposures, Environmental
D005260	Female		Females
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man