Environmental carcinogens disproportionally mutate genes implicated in neurodevelopmental disorders

De novo mutations contribute to a large proportion of sporadic psychiatric and developmental disorders, yet the potential role of environmental carcinogens as drivers of causal de novo mutations in neurodevelopmental disorders is poorly studied. We demonstrate that several mutagens, including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), disproportionately mutate genes related to neurodevelopmental disorders including autism spectrum disorders (ASD), schizophrenia, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Other disease genes including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Alzheimers disease, congenital heart disease, orofacial clefts, and coronary artery disease were generally not mutated more than expected. Our findings support a new paradigm of neurodevelopmental disease etiology driven by a contribution of environmentally induced rather than random mutations.

Soft Tissue Tumor

Soft tissue tumors are a heterogeneous group of benign and malignant lesions that develop from a variety of nonepithelial, extraskeletal elements, including adipose tissue, smooth and skeletal muscle, tendons, cartilage, fibrous tissue, blood vessels, and lymphatic structures. The writing of this article includes various sources originating from scientific journals and government guidelines and related agencies. Source searches were carried out on online portals for journal publications such as Med Scape Google Scholar (scholar.google.com) and the National Centre for Biotechnology Information/NCBI (ncbi.nlm.nih.gov), with the keyword “Sensoric Nerve Trauma”. Soft tissue tumors (STT) can be benign or malignant, and benign soft tissue tumors are more common than malignant tumors with a ratio of 100: 1. In a study of 93 cases of soft tissue tumors, it was found that the incidence of benign tumors was 75.2% and malignant tumors were 24.8%. Soft tissue tumors are associated with genetic conditions, radiation, chronic lymphedema, environmental carcinogens, and infections.

Characterizing Trends in Lung Cancer Mortality Attributable to Airborne Environmental Carcinogens

Tracheal, bronchus, and lung (TBL) cancer is the leading cause of cancer death globally, but trends in TBL mortality attributable to tobacco, ambient particulate matter pollution (APMP), and household air pollution (HAP) were unequally distributed within global population subgroups over the last three decades. We used data from the Global Burden of Disease 2019 study to quantify the impact of sex, time, sociodemographic development index (SDI), and age for each exposure from 1990–2019. During that interval, tobacco dominated the TBL cancer mortality landscape, with its minimum global age-adjusted death rate of 16.71 deaths/100,000 (95% Uncertainty Interval (UI): 15.27–18.13) outstripping maximums of 3.85 deaths/100,000 (UI: 2.82–4.83) and 2.54 deaths/100,000 (UI: 1.69–3.54) for APMP and HAP, respectively. In 2019, tobacco male TBL death rates exceeded female rates by a factor of 4.4:1. Ratios of 1.9:1 for APMP and 2.1:1 for HAP were seen. Our analysis indicates that both-sex middle SDI and female low, low-middle, and high-middle SDI populations are suffering increasing tobacco TBL burden. Efforts producing successful global reductions in HAP-associated TBL mortality should continue, with attention to low SDI female death rate increases. Finally, except for high SDI populations, global APMP-attributable TBL cancer burden is increasing and represents a major health concern.

Cancer and the Environment projects with four First Nations organizations: working together to address concerns about carcinogens in the environment

Setting For First Nations people, human health and well-being are interconnected with a healthy environment. First Nations organizations commonly raise concerns regarding carcinogens in the environment; however, few case studies are available as guidance for working in a participatory and respectful way to help assess and address these concerns. Intervention Through four community-led pilot projects executed over two years, we collaborated with 15 participants from four First Nations organizations across four provinces to identify concerns related to environmental carcinogens and to address those concerns through an integrated knowledge translation (KT) approach. We co-developed and implemented strategic KT plans for each pilot project, and conducted evaluation surveys and interviews with participants at multiple time points to assess process, progress, barriers and facilitators, and impact. Outcomes The activities and outputs of the pilot projects are available at www.carexcanada.ca. Participants identified 18 concerns, and we co-developed 24 knowledge products. Tailored fact sheets for communities and briefing notes for leadership were deemed most useful; interactive maps were deemed less useful. Evaluation indicated that the collaborative projects were effective in addressing the concerns raised regarding exposures to carcinogens. Implications The participant-led approach and multi-year funding to support capacity enhancement and face-to-face engagement were facilitators to project success. However, participants did face important barriers to collaborate which should be considered in future projects of this kind: the most important being a lack of resources (people and time), given competing and often more urgent priorities.

Colorectal Cancer in Africa: Causes, Dietary Intervention, and Lifestyle Change

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a menace in the global public health system. According to GLOBOCAN reports, colorectal cancer is the second most diagnosed cancer in the world with more than 1.9 million cases and 935,000 deaths in 2020 alone. Diet plays a key role in exposing humans to environmental carcinogens and anti-carcinogens, consequently mitigating or aiding in the development of various cancers. CRC is most prevalent in western countries with a high intake of saturated fats, refined carbohydrates, and processed meat. CRC was an extremely rare disease in Africa some decades ago, but the situation is fast changing. The traditional African diet consists of leafy, roots and cruciferous vegetables, fruits, roots, tubers and plantains, legumes, whole grains, and spices, all of which have been shown to possess protective effects against CRC. However, the effect of urbanization has contributed to the shift of dietary choices among the African population to consuming more ultra-processed foods with high levels of unhealthy components that have originated from colorectal cancer prevalent regions. This review evaluates the current nutritional challenges of the African diet to colorectal cancer and the potential roles of the traditional African diets and lifestyle modification in the prevention and management of colorectal cancer.

Versatile cell-based assay for measuring DNA alkylation damage and its repair

DNA alkylation damage induced by environmental carcinogens, chemotherapy drugs, or endogenous metabolites plays a central role in mutagenesis, carcinogenesis, and cancer therapy. Base excision repair (BER) is a conserved, front line DNA repair pathway that removes alkylation damage from DNA. The capacity of BER to repair DNA alkylation varies markedly between different cell types and tissues, which correlates with cancer risk and cellular responses to alkylation chemotherapy. The ability to measure cellular rates of alkylation damage repair by the BER pathway is critically important for better understanding of the fundamental processes involved in carcinogenesis, and also to advance development of new therapeutic strategies. Methods for assessing the rates of alkylation damage and repair, especially in human cells, are limited, prone to significant variability due to the unstable nature of some of the alkyl adducts, and often rely on indirect measurements of BER activity. Here, we report a highly reproducible and quantitative, cell-based assay, named alk-BER (alkylation Base Excision Repair) for measuring rates of BER following alkylation DNA damage. The alk-BER assay involves specific detection of methyl DNA adducts (7-methyl guanine and 3-methyl adenine) directly in genomic DNA. The assay has been developed and adapted to measure the activity of BER in fungal model systems and human cell lines. Considering the specificity and conserved nature of BER enzymes, the assay can be adapted to virtually any type of cultured cells. Alk-BER offers a cost efficient and reliable method that can effectively complement existing approaches to advance integrative research on mechanisms of alkylation DNA damage and repair.

Diagnostic dilemma and challenges of granulocytic sarcoma: a review

The maleficent tumour granulocytic sarcoma is an unusual cancer indite of progressive myeloid precursor cells. It is a Chloroma basically present at an extramedullary location spread through immature granulocytic cells. It can affect any part of the body but the primary site is soft tissues, outside bone marrow, lymph nodes. The root cause may be many factors i.e. genetic, environmental, carcinogens etc. This proliferative type of cancer is sometimes misdiagnosis in contradictory to other acute/chronic tumours. For a histopathologist, it is a challenge for an accurate diagnosis. The tissue biopsy is the known diagnostic technique used since days in cancer diagnosis. To address this review, our main focus is to investigate, analyse the diagnostic limitations or research gaps in granulocytic sarcoma recognition at the clinical level and what can be the possibilities that have developed recently in tumour detection at an early stage. Next, we will try to develop a hypothesis from pinpoint methods used in it as molecular diagnosis, immune-histochemical biomarkers, flow cytometry (FACS) for confirmation of sarcoma so that specificity and sensitivity can be well examined. The prognosis/diagnosis in myeloid tumour detection depends on key factor innovation and medical devices and that should be filled in research and so a gold standard diagnostic kit should be developed.

Identification by MicroRNA Analysis of Environmental Risk Factors Bearing Pathogenic Relevance in Non-Smoker Lung Cancer

MicroRNA and DNA adduct biomarkers may be used to identify the contribution of environmental pollution to some types of cancers. The aim of this study was to use integrated DNA adducts and microRNAs analyses to study retrospectively the contribution of exposures to environmental carcinogens to lung cancer in 64 non-smokers living in Sicily and Catania city near to the Etna volcano. MicroRNAs were extracted from cancer lung biopsies, and from the surrounding lung normal tissue. The expression of 2549 human microRNAs was analyzed by microarray. Benzo(a)Pyrene-DNA adducts levels were analyzed in the patients’ blood by HPLC−fluorescence detection. Correlations between tetrols and environmental exposures were calculated using Pearson coefficients and regression variable plots. Compared with the healthy tissue, 273 microRNAs were downregulated in lung cancer. Tetrols levels were inversely related both with the distance from Etna and years since smoking cessation, but they were not significantly correlated to environmental exposures. The analysis of the microRNA environmental signatures indicates the contribution of environmental factors to the analyzed lung cancers in the following decreasing rank: (a) car traffic, (b) passive smoke, (c) radon, and (d) volcano ashes. These results provide evidence that microRNA analysis can be used to retrospectively investigate the contribution of environmental factors in human lung cancer occurring in non-smokers.

Knowledge, Attitude and Practice among the Moi University College of Health Sciences Finalists Undergraduate Students at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital on Environmental Carcinogens in Eldoret, Uasin Gishu County, Kenya

This Study Aimed To Bridge The Gap Between Cancer And Environmental Causes, Push For Improved Prevention, Early Screening, And Better Surveillance On Indicators Of Poor Health Linked To Cancer. The Objective Assessed Knowledge, Attitude, And Practice Among Moi University College Of Health Sciences Finalist Undergraduate Students On Environmental Carcinogens In Eldoret, Kenya. The Study Site Was MTRH, With A Cross-Sectional Study Design. The Study Population Was The Adult Finalist Undergraduate Students In The College Of Health Sciences At MTRH. Inclusion Criteria: Adult Finalist Undergraduate Students In The College Of Health Sciences Willing To Share Information And Consenting To Participate. Sample Size Was Determined After The Census Of All The Participants And Meeting Inclusion Criteria. Mixed Sampling Was Used. Data Collection Tools Were A Pre-Validated Structured Questionnaire, Observation Checklist, And Secondary Data. Data Collection Was Done Using Google Forms. Data Were Cleaned And Checked For Completeness. Statistical Analysis And Cross-Tabulation For Variables Were Done Using SPSS Version 26. Data Presentation Was Through Tables, Graphs, And Prose Formats. The Results Of The Study Were As Follows: There Were 40 Males And 22 Females, Ratio-1.82:1. Modal Age Was 22years (19.67%). Prior To Joining The University, 61.29% Had Encountered Cancer Cases. 36% Agreed That They Were Not Aware Of Predisposing Factors, While 32% And 12% Agreed That Tobacco Users And Factory Workers Were Predisposed, Respectively. 28 Respondents Used Plastic Containers, 1.61% Used Tobacco, And 21 Took Alcohol. 92% Were Never Screened For Cancer, Though 17 Females And 26 Males Did Self-Examination At Least Once A Month.