A new study of atrazine exposure among pesticide applicators has found no clear association with an increased risk of cancer.
In the United States, more than 76 million pounds of the herbicide atrazine are used annually, applied primarily to corn and soybean crops. The pesticide has been detected in surface water surveys in the Midwest and in national surveys of drinking water wells. Animal and human studies have suggested that atrazine may be carcinogenic, but the evidence has been mixed.
Jennifer A. Rusiecki, Ph.D., and Michael C. R. Alavanja, Dr.P.H., of the National Cancer Institute, and colleagues conducted a prospective cohort study of almost 54,000 pesticide applicators from Iowa and North Carolina. The researchers found no clear associations between atrazine exposure and any cancer analyzed. However, they suggest that further studies are warranted for several cancers (lung, bladder, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and multiple myeloma) for which there was a suggestion of a trend.
Contact: National Cancer Institute Press Office, 301-496-6641, NCIPressOfficers@mail.nih.gov
Alcohol Consumption Not Associated With Increased Risk of Bladder Cancer
Results from epidemiologic studies have been inconsistent about whether alcohol consumption increases a person's risk of bladder cancer. Luc Djoussé, M.D., D.Sc., M.P.H., of the Boston University School of Medicine, and colleagues used data from the Framingham Heart Study to assess the association between total and beverage-specific alcohol consumption and the risk of bladder cancer. They found no association between total alcohol, wine, or spirit consumption and the risk of bladder cancer. However, beer consumption was associated with a reduced risk of the cancer.
Contact: Luc Djoussé, Boston University School of Medicine, 617-638-8096, ldjousse@bu.edu
Study Finds Rise in Gastric Cancers Due in Part to Changes in Classification
About a decade ago, it was observed that the incidence of adenocarcinomas of the esophagus and gastric cardia was increasing faster than any other cancer. Douglas A. Corley, M.D., M.P.H., Ph.D., of Kaiser Permanente in Oakland, Calif., and Ai Kubo of Columbia University in New York, analyzed data from Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) cancer registries to see if improvements in cancer site classification could account for the purported rise in incidence. They found that changes in site classification--from no specific site to a specific site--largely accounted for the increase in incidence of gastric cardia cancer and that the incidence of noncardia gastric cancer may be decreasing faster than had been previously known.
Contact: Laura H. Marshall, Kaiser Permanente, 510-271-5826, laura.h.marshall@kp.org
Animal Study Shows Mammaglobin-A Vaccination Has Potential As Breast Cancer Treatment
The breast cancer-associated antigen mammaglobin-A has been found in 80% of breast tumors but not in normal breast cells. In a new study, T. Mohanakumar, Ph.D., of the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, and colleagues demonstrate in a mouse model of human breast cancer that a mammaglobin-A cDNA vaccine reverses tumor growth in mammaglobin-A expressing breast tumors. They conclude that mammaglobin-A immunotherapy shows potential as a treatment for breast cancer.
Contact: Gila Z. Reckess, Washington University Medical Public Affairs, 314-286-0109, reckessg@wustl.edu
Also in the September 15 JNCI:
Note: The Journal of the National Cancer Institute is published by Oxford University Press and is not affiliated with the National Cancer Institute. Attribution to the Journal of the National Cancer Institute is requested in all news coverage. Visit the Journal online at http://jncicancerspectrum.oupjournals.org/.
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