CAs have been associated with increased cancer risk in adults. Translocations are of special concern as they result in a portion of one chromosome being juxtaposed to a portion of another chromosome, potentially scrambling the genetic script. "Translocations can persist for years after exposure. Some accumulated damage will be repaired, but not everyone's repair capacity is the same. Previous studies have suggested that chromosomal breaks can double an adult's lifetime risk for cancer, though implications for children are unknown," says first author Manuela A. Orjuela, MD, ScM, assistant professor of clinical environmental health sciences and pediatrics (oncology) at Columbia University Medical Center and a pediatric oncologist at NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital.
To obtain a better sense of the long-term consequences of naphthalene exposure, Dr. Orjuela and other CCCEH investigators are following some of the children in the study as they reach fourth grade. While they expect to see further translocations, they do not expect to see any signs of cancer in the white blood cells. "So far, the translocations seem to be random, and there has been no evidence of the specific translocations that are known to be associated with leukemia. This is entirely expected; leukemia is very rare." Frederica Perera, DrPH, senior author on the paper, adds that "the findings provide yet more evidence of the vulnerability of the young child to carcinogenic air pollutants."
The researchers hypothesized that naphthalene exposure was primarily from mothballs, which can release high levels of the chemical. Furthermore, according to previous research, some Caribbean immigrant families use mothballs as an air freshener. Other important sources of naphthalene in indoor air are tobacco smoke, paint fumes, cooking, and heating. The new findings have implications beyond the urban environment as ele
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| Contact: Timothy S. Paul tp2111@columbia.edu 212-305-2676 Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health Source:Eurekalert |