Dataset Information

Case-control study of arsenic in drinking water and kidney cancer in uniquely exposed Northern Chile.

ABSTRACT: Millions of people worldwide are exposed to arsenic in drinking water. The International Agency for Research on Cancer has concluded that ingested arsenic causes lung, bladder, and skin cancer. However, a similar conclusion was not made for kidney cancer because of a lack of research with individual data on exposure and dose-response. With its unusual geology, high exposures, and good information on past arsenic water concentrations, northern Chile is one of the best places in the world to investigate the carcinogenicity of arsenic. We performed a case-control study in 2007-2010 of 122 kidney cancer cases and 640 population-based controls with individual data on exposure and potential confounders. Cases included 76 renal cell, 24 transitional cell renal pelvis and ureter, and 22 other kidney cancers. For renal pelvis and ureter cancers, the adjusted odds ratios by average arsenic intakes of <400, 400-1,000, and >1,000 µg/day (median water concentrations of 60, 300, and 860 µg/L) were 1.00, 5.71 (95% confidence interval: 1.65, 19.82), and 11.09 (95% confidence interval: 3.60, 34.16) (Ptrend < 0.001), respectively. Odds ratios were not elevated for renal cell cancer. With these new findings, including evidence of dose-response, we believe there is now sufficient evidence in humans that drinking-water arsenic causes renal pelvis and ureter cancer.

SUBMITTER: Ferreccio C

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3817454 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Case-control study of arsenic in drinking water and kidney cancer in uniquely exposed Northern Chile.

Ferreccio Catterina C Smith Allan H AH Durán Viviana V Barlaro Teresa T Benítez Hugo H Valdés Rodrigo R Aguirre Juan José JJ Moore Lee E LE Acevedo Johanna J Vásquez María Isabel MI Pérez Liliana L Yuan Yan Y Liaw Jane J Cantor Kenneth P KP Steinmaus Craig C

American journal of epidemiology 20130613 5

Millions of people worldwide are exposed to arsenic in drinking water. The International Agency for Research on Cancer has concluded that ingested arsenic causes lung, bladder, and skin cancer. However, a similar conclusion was not made for kidney cancer because of a lack of research with individual data on exposure and dose-response. With its unusual geology, high exposures, and good information on past arsenic water concentrations, northern Chile is one of the best places in the world to inves ...[more]

PMID: 23764934

Similar Datasets

Project description:OBJECTIVES:We investigated the association of specific serum amino acids (AAs) with the odds of arsenic-induced skin lesions (AISL) and their ability to distinguish patients with AISL from people chronically exposed to arsenic. DESIGN:Case-control study. SETTING:Three arsenic-exposed villages in Wuyuan County, Hetao Plain, Inner Mongolia, China were evaluated. PARTICIPANTS:Among the 450 residents aged 18-79 years, who were chronically exposed to arsenic via drinking water, 56 were diagnosed as having AISL (defined as cases). Another 56 participants without AISL, matched by gender and age (±1?year) from the same population, were examined as controls. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES AND METHODS:AA levels were determined by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry-based metabolomics analysis. Potential confounding variables were identified via a standardised questionnaire and clinical examination. Multivariable conditional logistic regression model and receiver operating characteristic curve analyses were performed to investigate the relationship between specific AAs and AISL. RESULTS:Tryptophan and phenylalanine levels were negatively associated with AISL (p<0.05). Compared with that in the first quartile, the adjusted OR of AISL in the second, third and fourth quartiles were decreased by 44%, 88% and 79% for tryptophan and 30%, 80% and 80% for phenylalanine, respectively. The combination of these two higher-level AAs showed the lowest OR for AISL (OR=0.08; 95%?CI 0.02 to 0.25; p<0.001). Furthermore, both AAs showed a moderate ability to distinguish patients with AISL from the control, with the area under the curve (AUC; 95%?CI) as 0.67 (0.57 to 0.77) for tryptophan and 0.70 (0.60 to 0.80) for phenylalanine (p<0.05). The combined pattern with AUC (95%?CI) was 0.72 (0.62 to 0.81), showing a sensitivity of 76.79% and specificity of 58.93% (p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS:Specific AAs may be linked to AISL and play important roles in early AISL identification. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER:NCT02235948.

Project description:Bladder cancer mortality rates have been elevated in northern New England for at least five decades. Incidence rates in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont are about 20% higher than the United States overall. We explored reasons for this excess, focusing on arsenic in drinking water from private wells, which are particularly prevalent in the region.In a population-based case-control study in these three states, 1213 bladder cancer case patients and 1418 control subjects provided information on suspected risk factors. Log transformed arsenic concentrations were estimated by linear regression based on measurements in water samples from current and past homes. All statistical tests were two-sided.Bladder cancer risk increased with increasing water intake (Ptrend = .003). This trend was statistically significant among participants with a history of private well use (Ptrend = .01). Among private well users, this trend was apparent if well water was derived exclusively from shallow dug wells (which are vulnerable to contamination from manmade sources, Ptrend = .002) but not if well water was supplied only by deeper drilled wells (Ptrend = .48). If dug wells were used pre-1960, when arsenical pesticides were widely used in the region, heavier water consumers (>2.2?L/day) had double the risk of light users (<1.1?L/day, Ptrend = .01). Among all participants, cumulative arsenic exposure from all water sources, lagged 40 years, yielded a positive risk gradient (Ptrend = .004); among the highest-exposed participants (97.5th percentile), risk was twice that of the lowest-exposure quartile (odds ratio = 2.24, 95% confidence interval = 1.29 to 3.89).Our findings support an association between low-to-moderate levels of arsenic in drinking water and bladder cancer risk in New England. In addition, historical consumption of water from private wells, particularly dug wells in an era when arsenical pesticides were widely used, was associated with increased bladder cancer risk and may have contributed to the New England excess.

Dataset Information

Case-control study of arsenic in drinking water and kidney cancer in uniquely exposed Northern Chile.

Publications

Case-control study of arsenic in drinking water and kidney cancer in uniquely exposed Northern Chile.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets