Bladder cancer in crack testers applying azo dye-based sprays to metal bodies

Social Determinants of Health in Oncology: Towards a More Personalized and Equitable Delivery of Cancer Care

Social determinants of health (SDOH) are defined as the set of modifiable social and physical risk factors that affect health. It is known that SDOH directly influence the population's overall health, but their effects on patients with cancer are considerably less elucidated. Here, we review the literature describing the effects of SDOH outlined by the Healthy People 2020 framework on patients diagnosed with cancer. We have found that while some SDOH are well-defined in cancer patients, evidence surrounding several variables is scarce. In addition, we have found that many SDOH are associated with disparities at the screening stage, indicating that upstream interventions are necessary before addressing the clinical outcomes themselves. Further investigation is warranted to understand how SDOH affect screenings and outcomes in multiple disciplines of oncology and types of cancers as well as explore how SDOH affect the treatments sought by these vulnerable patients.

[Occupational cancers in urology]

Cancers can be triggered by occupational causes. In the field of urology, bladder cancer is by far the most frequent occupationally induced tumor disease. Causes are particularly carcinogenic aromatic amines and carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. The frequency of this disease has shifted over the last decades from the classical hazard in the chemical industry to the users. Among a variety of hazardous occupations, hairdressers and painters are the best known. Rarely, renal cell carcinoma can be triggered by high trichloroethylene exposure and mesothelioma of the tunica vaginalis testis by asbestos. If a disease that can be caused by occupational activities has been confirmed (e.g. urinary bladder cancer), the risk factors must be recorded by a complete occupational history from the first employment on in order to be able to report a suspected occupational disease. In addition, spinal cord injury due to occupational and commuting accidents can lead to urinary bladder cancer over the long term.

Filaggrin Polymorphisms and the Uptake of Chemicals through the Skin-A Human Experimental Study

BACKGROUND

The filaggrin protein is important for skin barrier structure and function. Loss-of-function (null) mutations in the filaggrin gene FLG may increase dermal absorption of chemicals.

OBJECTIVE

The objective of the study was to clarify if dermal absorption of chemicals differs depending on FLG genotype.

METHOD

We performed a quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR)-based genetic screen for loss-of-function mutations (FLG null) in 432 volunteers from the general population in southern Sweden and identified 28 FLG null carriers. In a dermal exposure experiment, we exposed 23 FLG null and 31 wild-type (wt) carriers to three organic compounds common in the environment: the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon pyrene, the pesticide pyrimethanil, and the ultraviolet-light absorber oxybenzone. We then used liquid-chromatography mass-spectrometry to measure the concentrations of these chemicals or their metabolites in the subjects' urine over 48 h following exposure. Furthermore, we used long-range PCR to measure FLG repeat copy number variants (CNV), and we performed population toxicokinetic analysis.

RESULTS

Lag times for the uptake and dermal absorption rate of the chemicals differed significantly between FLG null and wt carriers with low (20-22 repeats) and high FLG CNV (23-24 repeats). We found a dose-dependent effect on chemical absorption with increasing lag times by increasing CNV for both pyrimethanil and pyrene, and decreasing area under the urinary excretion rate curve (AUC(0-40h)) with increasing CNV for pyrimethanil. FLG null carriers excreted 18% and 110% more metabolite (estimated by AUC(0-40h)) for pyrimethanil than wt carriers with low and high CNV, respectively.

CONCLUSION

We conclude that FLG genotype influences the dermal absorption of some common chemicals. Overall, FLG null carriers were the most susceptible, with the shortest lag time and highest rate constants for skin absorption, and higher fractions of the applied dose excreted. Furthermore, our results indicate that low FLG CNV resulted in increased dermal absorption of chemicals. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP7310.

Modified multi-walled carbon nanotubes assisted foam fractionation for effective removal of acid orange 7 from the dyestuff wastewater

In this study, multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) had been used to strengthen the removal of acid orange 7 (AO7) from the dyestuff wastewater by using foam fractionation. First, the surface modification of MWCNTs was performed by introducing hypochlorite groups (-OCl). The modified MWCNTs were characterized by using SEM, XRD, FTIR and Raman spectroscopy. Subsequently, the potential of modified MWCNTs as a novel collector for AO7 adsorption was examined. The adsorption conditions of modified MWCNTs towards AO7 were optimized by using response surface methodology (RSM) with a central composite design (CCD). The adsorption capacity of modified MWCNTs towards AO7 could reach 47.72 ± 0.79 mg·g^-1 under the optimum conditions. The kinetics and the equilibrium adsorption data were analyzed by using different kinetic and isotherm models. According to the regression results, adsorption kinetics data were well described by pseudo-second order model, whereas adsorption isotherm data were best represented by Langmuir isotherm model. Finally, foam fractionation was performed with a batch mode. Under the suitable conditions of loading liquid volume 300 mL, modified MWCNTs dosage 180 mg, cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) concentration 50 mg·L^-1, AO7 concentration 30 mg·L^-1, pore diameter of gas distributor 0.125 mm and air flow rate 100 mL·min^-1, the removal percentage and enrichment ratio of AO7 were 91.23% and 6.17, respectively. The decolourization ratio of solution after foam fractionation was found to be 98.66%.

Polymorphisms of xenobiotic metabolizing enzymes in bladder cancer patients of the Semmelweis University Budapest, Hungary

Polymorphic xenobiotic metabolizing enzymes such as N-acetyltransferase 2 (NAT2) or glutathione S-transferase M1 (GSTM1) are known to modulate bladder cancer risk. As no apparent data were available from Hungary, a former member of the eastern European economic organization, a study was performed in Budapest. In total, 182 bladder cancer cases and 78 cancer-free controls were investigated by questionnaire. Genotypes of NAT2, GSTM1, GSTT1, rs1058396 and rs17674580 were determined by standard methods. Current smokers' crude odds ratio (OR) (3.43) and former smokers crude OR (2.36) displayed a significantly increased bladder cancer risk. The risk rose by a factor of 1.56 per 10 pack years. Exposure to fumes was associated with an elevated bladder cancer risk (23% cases, 13% controls). Sixty-four % of the cases and 59% of controls were slow NAT2 acetylators. It was not possible to establish a particular impact of NAT2*6A and *7B genotypes (15 cases, 8%, 5 controls, 7%). GSTT1 exerted no marked influence on bladder cancer (negative 21% cases vs. 22% controls). The portion of GSTM1 negative bladder cancer patients was increased (63% cases vs. 54% controls). The SLC14A1 SNPs rs1058396[AG/GG] and the nearby rs17674580[CT/TT] occurred more frequently in cases (79% and 68%) than controls (77% and 55%). The portion of GSTM1 negative bladder cancer patients is comparable with portions reported from other industrialized areas like Lutherstadt Wittenberg/Germany (58%), Dortmund/Germany (70%), Brescia/Italy (66%) or an occupational case-control series in Germany (56%). Data indicate that GSTM1 is a susceptibility factor for environmentally triggered bladder cancer rather than for smoking-mediated bladder cancer.

Occupational risk factors for relapse-free survival in bladder cancer patients

The influence of occupational risk factors on bladder cancer development is well investigated. However, studies on the influence on bladder cancer prognosis are rare. Therefore, it was of interest to investigate the time to first relapse in the follow-ups of three case-control series from Dortmund, Neuss, and Lutherstadt Wittenberg, Germany. Relapse-free survival of in total 794 urinary bladder cancer patients (Dortmund 174, Neuss 407, Lutherstadt Wittenberg 213) was derived from medical records. Cox regression models were used to determine the impact of profession and exposure to bladder carcinogens if the risk factor was present in at least four cases. One or several relapses were observed in 416 cases (52%). Median time to first relapse was 0.94 yr. Ten professions were observed in at least 4 patients. No significant associations were found. However, workers in the leather industry (n = 4), printing industry (n = 4), transportation (n = 43), and chemical industry (n = 40) and locksmiths/mechanics (n = 44) showed shorter relapse-free times. No trend to shorter relapse-free time was observed for miners (n = 42), agriculturists (n = 18), painters/lacquerers (n = 21), colorant production and processing workers (n = 7), foundry workers (n = 5), and persons exposed to aromatic amines (n = 45). Although the follow-up comprised nearly 800 cases, data on occupations and exposures of interest were not sufficient to obtain significant results. However, first results indicated potential associations that are worth further investigations.

The ultra-slow NAT2*6A haplotype is associated with reduced higher cognitive functions in an elderly study group

N-Acetyltransferase 2 (NAT2) genotype is associated with age-related declines in basic sensory hearing functions. However, the possible modulatory role of NAT2 for higher cognitive functions has not yet been studied. We tested auditory goal-directed behavior and attentional control in 120 NAT2 genotyped subjects (63-88 years), using an auditory distraction paradigm in which participants responded to the duration of long and short tone stimuli. We studied involuntary shifts in attention to task-irrelevant deviant stimuli and applied event-related potentials (ERPs) to examine which cognitive subprocesses are affected by NAT2 status on a neurophysiological level. Relative to the standard stimuli, deviant stimuli decreased performance in the recently described ultra-slow acetylators (NAT2*6A and *7B): The increase in error-corrected reaction times (a combined measure of response speed and accuracy) in ultra-slow acetylators (254 ms increase) was more than twice as high as in the rapid acetylator reference group (111 ms increase; p < 0.01). The increase was still higher than in the other slow acetylators (149 ms increase, p < 0.05). In addition, clear differences were found in the ERP results: Ultra-slow acetylators showed deficits specifically in the automatic detection of changes in the acoustic environment as evidenced by reduced mismatch negativity (MMN, p < 0.005 compared to rapid acetylators). Refocussing of attention after a distracting event was also impaired in the ultra-slow acetylators as evidenced by a reduced re-orienting negativity (RON, p < 0.01 compared to rapid acetylators). In conclusion, the ultra-slow acetylation status was associated with reduced higher cognitive functions.

Eco- and genotoxicological assessments of two reactive textile dyes

Contamination of natural waters has been one of the major problems of modern society and the textile industry is rated as an important polluting source, due to the generation of large amounts of wastewaters. The aim of this study was to assess textile dyes Reactive Blue 19 (RB19, anthraquinone dye) and Reactive Red 120 (RR120, azo dye) in terms of the potential to induce adverse effects on aquatic organisms and humans. Thus, these dyes were tested using the following assays: Microtox assay (Vibrio fischeri); brine shrimp (Artemia salina); Daphnia similis; and Comet with normal human dermal fibroblasts as well as Ames test (TA98, TA100, YG1041, YG1042--with and without S9). RB19 was relatively nontoxic to all aquatic bioindicators analyzed with an EC50 of more than 100 mg/L, whereas RR120 was only moderately toxic to A. salina with a EC50-48h of 81.89 mg/L. Mutagenicity through base pair substitution was observed with RB19 in the presence of S9 (Ames-positive). The comet assay did not demonstrate any apparent genotoxic effects for any tested dye. Although mutagenicity was detected with RB19, the mutagenic effect observed may be considered weak compared to the ability to induce DNA damage by other classes of dyes such as disperse dyes. Therefore, these dyes may be classified as nonmutagens (RR120) or weak mutagens (RB19) and relatively nontoxic for aquatic organisms. However, it is noteworthy that the weak acute toxicity to A. salina induced by RR120 is sufficient to suggest potential damage to the aquatic ecosystem and emphasizes the need for biomonitoring dye levels in wastewater systems.

Comparison of photocatalytic degradation of dyes in relation to their structure

The photocatalytic degradation of a series of six acid dyes (Direct Red 80, Direct Red 81, Direct Red 23, Direct Violet 51, Direct Yellow 27, and Direct Yellow 50) has been tested compared in terms of color removal, mineralization, and toxicity (Lactuca sativa L. test) after photocatalysis on immobilized titanium dioxide. The dyes were examined at their natural pH and after hydrolysis at pH 12. Results show that hydrolysis decreases strongly the efficiency of color removal, that full mineralization takes much longer reaction time than color removal, and that toxicity is only very partially reduced. Some structural parameters, related to the structure and the topology of the dye molecules, could be correlated with the apparent color removal rates at natural pH.