Increased thyroid cancer incidence in a basaltic volcanic area is associated with non-anthropogenic pollution and biocon
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ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Increased thyroid cancer incidence in a basaltic volcanic area is associated with non-anthropogenic pollution and biocontamination Pasqualino Malandrino1 • Marco Russo1 • Anna Ronchi2 • Claudio Minoia2 • Daniela Cataldo1 • Concetto Regalbuto1 • Carla Giordano3 • Marco Attard4 • Sebastiano Squatrito1 • Francesco Trimarchi5 • Riccardo Vigneri1,6,7
Received: 2 July 2015 / Accepted: 24 September 2015 Ó Springer Science+Business Media New York 2015
Abstract The increased thyroid cancer incidence in volcanic areas suggests an environmental effect of volcanicoriginated carcinogens. To address this problem, we evaluated environmental pollution and biocontamination in a volcanic area of Sicily with increased thyroid cancer incidence. Thyroid cancer epidemiology was obtained from the Sicilian Regional Registry for Thyroid Cancer. Twentyseven trace elements were measured by quadrupole mass spectrometry in the drinking water and lichens (to characterize environmental pollution) and in the urine of residents (to identify biocontamination) in the Mt. Etna
Pasqualino Malandrino and Marco Russo have contributed equally to this work. & Pasqualino Malandrino [email protected]
volcanic area and in adjacent control areas. Thyroid cancer incidence was 18.5 and 9.6/105 inhabitants in the volcanic and the control areas, respectively. The increase was exclusively due to the papillary histotype. Compared with control areas, in the volcanic area many trace elements were increased in both drinking water and lichens, indicating both water and atmospheric pollution. Differences were greater for water. Additionally, in the urine of the residents of the volcanic area, the average levels of many trace elements were significantly increased, with values higher two-fold or more than in residents of the control area: cadmium (92.1), mercury (92.6), manganese (93.0), palladium (99.0), thallium (92.0), uranium (92.0), vanadium (98.0), and tungsten (92.4). Urine concentrations were significantly correlated with values in water but not in lichens. Our findings reveal a complex non-anthropogenic biocontamination with many trace elements in residents of an active volcanic area where thyroid cancer incidence is increased. The possible carcinogenic effect of these chemicals on the thyroid and other tissues cannot be excluded and should be investigated.
1
Endocrinology, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Garibaldi-Nesima Medical Center, University of Catania, via Palermo n. 636, 95122 Catania, Italy
2
Laboratory of Experimental and Clinical Toxicology, Toxicology Unit, Pavia Poison Control Center and National Toxicology Information Center, IRCCS Maugeri Foundation, Pavia, Italy
Keywords Thyroid cancer Volcanic area Trace elements Epidemiology Heavy metals
Endocrinology, Diabetology and Metabolism, Department of Internal and Specialist Biomedicine, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
Introduction
3
4
Unit of Endocrinology, Ospedali Riuniti Villa Sofia, Cervello Hospital, Palermo, Italy
5
Endocrinol
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