Details:

Alternative Title:
Environ Health Perspect
Personal Author:
Steinberg, Karen K. ; Relling, Mary V. ; Gallagher, Margaret L. ; Greene, Christopher N. ; Rubin, Carol S. ; ... More +
Steinberg, Karen K. ; Relling, Mary V. ; Gallagher, Margaret L. ; Greene, Christopher N. ; Rubin, Carol S. ; French, Deborah ; Holmes, Adrianne K. ; Carroll, William L. ; Koontz, Deborah A. ; Sampson, Eric J. ; Satten, Glen A. Less -
Description:
Objective

In a study to identify exposures associated with 15 cases of childhood leukemia, we found levels of tungsten, arsenic, and dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene in participants to be higher than mean values reported in the National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals. Because case and comparison families had similar levels of these contaminants, we conducted genetic studies to identify gene polymorphisms that might have made case children more susceptible than comparison children to effects of the exposures.

Design

We compared case with comparison children to determine whether differences existed in the frequency of polymorphic genes, including genes that code for enzymes in the folate and purine pathways. We also included discovery of polymorphic forms of genes that code for enzymes that are inhibited by tungsten: xanthine dehydrogenase, sulfite oxidase (SUOX gene), and aldehyde oxidase.

Participants

Eleven case children were age- and sex-matched with 42 community comparison children for genetic analyses. Twenty parents of case children also contributed to the analyses.

Results

One bilalleleic gene locus in SUOX was significantly associated with either case or comparison status, depending on which alleles the child carried (without adjusting for multiple comparisons).

Conclusions

Although genetic studies did not provide evidence that a common agent or genetic susceptibility factor caused the leukemias, the association between a SUOX gene locus and disease status in the presence of high tungsten and arsenic levels warrants further investigation.

Relevance

Although analyses of community clusters of cancer have rarely identified causes, these findings have generated hypotheses to be tested in subsequent studies.


Subject:
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Adolescent
Adult
Aldehyde Oxidase
Arsenic
Child
Child, Preschool
Children
Cluster
DDE
Enzymes
Female
Genetics
Haplotypes
Humans
Leukemia
Male
Nevada
Oxidoreductases Acting On Sulfur Group Donors
Polymorphism
Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide
Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma
Research
Tungsten
Xanthine Dehydrogenase

Source:
Environ Health Perspect. 2007; 115(1):158-164.
Document Type:
Journal Article
Collection(s):
CDC Public Access
Main Document Checksum:
[+]
urn:sha256:101faa54b8c54678a81ef7964cda86c42b9d3243f5a92eae1eca4a41f1420883
File Type:

Supporting Files

• 	ehp0115-000158.nxml	txt
  	license.txt	txt

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