Exposure to Arsenic and Environmental  Tobacco Smoke in A Hospitalized Population  Group Diagnosed with Cervical Cancer – Preliminary Results From A Pilot Study

Iulia Adina Neamtiu; Irina Dumitrascu; Cristian Pop

Volume : III, Issue : III, March - 2014

Exposure to Arsenic and Environmental Tobacco Smoke in A Hospitalized Population Group Diagnosed with Cervical Cancer – Preliminary Results From A Pilot Study

Iulia Adina Neamtiu, Irina Dumitrascu, Cristian Pop

Abstract :

It has been estimated that two-thirds of all cancer cases are associated to environmental factors. In our pilot study, we have enrolled women diagnosed with cervical cancer to evaluate their exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) and arsenic by measuring the cotinine and total arsenic in their urine, as biomarkers of exposure to these contaminants and also, to investigate how these exposures could influence their response to treatment. Preliminary results showed levels of cotinine in urine between 0-395.41 �g/g creatinine, with an average value and a standard deviation of 51.16�101.04 �g/g creatinine and total urinary arsenic levels between 0 and 115.44 �g/l, with an average value and a standard deviation of 32.96�31.48 �g/g creatinine. More research and more data is needed to evaluate the interaction between exposures across environmental media (air, water, soil), settings (home, work) and concentrations, in particular within those populations with high cervical cancer rates.