Tag: Cancer

Toenail arsenic species and metallome profiles associated with breast, cervical, prostate, and skin cancer prevalence in the Atlantic Partnership for Tomorrow’s Health cohort

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Authors: Kalli Hood, Ellen Sweeney, Gabriela Ilie, Erin Keltie, Jong Sung Kim Journal: Frontiers in Public Health, Sec. Environmental Health and Exposome Abstract: Introduction: Chronic exposure to arsenic through drinking water has been linked to several cancers. The metabolism of arsenic is thought to play a key role in arsenic-related carcinogenesis as metabolites of varying toxicity are produced and either stored in or excreted from the body. Atlantic Canada has the highest age-standardized incidence rates of all cancers in the country. This may be due to its high levels of environmental arsenic and the prevalence of unregulated private wells for water consumption. Here, we aimed to characterize the profiles of arsenic species and metallome in the toenails of four cancer groups, compare them to healthy participants (N = 338), and assess potential associations between the profiles with cancer prevalence. Methods: This study employed a case–control design. Toenail samples and questionnaire data from cases (breast, cervical, prostate, and skin cancers) and controls were sourced from the Atlantic Partnership for Tomorrow’s Health (PATH) cohort study. The levels of arsenic species were measured using Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) paired with High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) and total concentrations of metallome (23 metals) were determined by ICP-MS separately. Multivariate analyses were conducted to compare cases with controls within each cancer group. Results: Arsenic speciation profiles varied by cancer type and were significantly different between cases and controls in the breast (p = 0.0330), cervical (p = 0.0228), and skin (p = 0.0228) cancer groups. In addition, the profiles of metallome (nine metals) were significantly differentiated in the prostate (p = 0.0244) and skin (p = 0.0321) cancer groups, with higher zinc concentrations among cases compared to controls. Conclusion: History of cancer diagnosis was associated with specific profiles of arsenic species and metallome. Our results indicate that arsenic methylation and zinc levels, as measured in toenails, may be an important biomarker for cancer prevalence. Further research is needed to use toenails as a prognostic measure of arsenic-and other metal-induced cancer. doi: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1148283

New Toxicology Publication

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Congratulations to Kalli Hood and team on their new publication in Frontiers in Public Health! Kalli’s Master’s research found an association between a history of cancer and arsenic speciation/metallome exposure in the Atlantic PATH cohort. This work is part of our larger focus on environment and cancer, and establishing toenails as an important biomarker representing ~18 months of exposure. Kalli is now working on her PhD focused on drinking water quality in the Department of Civil and Resource Engineering at Dalhousie University.  

New Microbiome Publication

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Congratulations to our colleagues, Dr. Jacob Nearing, Dr. Vanessa DeClercq and Dr. Morgan Langille on their new microbiome publication!! “Investigating the Oral Microbiome in Retrospective and Prospective Cases of Prostate, Colon and Breast Cancer” utilizes saliva samples from Atlantic PATH and Alberta’s Tomorrow Project to consider potential biomarkers for cancer. Link to article in Nature Biofilms and Microbiomes: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41522-023-00391-7

Keynote Lecture

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Atlantic PATH Scientific Director, Dr. Robin Urquhart was the key note speaker at the 8th annual Charbonneau Research Symposium. The Arnie Charbonneau Cancer Institute is based at the University of Calgary and brings together scientists and physicians to integrate research and care across disciplines – from understanding and preventing cancer, to transforming its detection and treatment, to improving life with and after cancer. The Arnie Charbonneau Cancer Institute Annual Research Symposium is a one day series of short lectures from principal investigators from across our different research streams. Dr. Urquhart presented on “Accelerating Change in the Cancer System: Dispatches from the Frontlines of Research and Practice.”

Changing the narrative of lung cancer to improve prevention for non-smokers

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Congratulations to Dr. Robin Urquhart and team on their successful funding from the Canadian Cancer Society to examine the effects of environmental exposures in non-smokers to detect lung cancer earlier. Lung cancer is most often linked to smoking, but can also occur in people who have never smoked because of exposure to arsenic, radon gas and air pollution. Yet, in several provinces in Canada where screening programs are being implemented for people at high-risk of lung cancer, only a person’s age and smoking history are currently considered in the risk assessment. With funding from the Canadian Cancer Society, this research team is working to make sure environmental factors are considered when assessing a person’s risk of lung cancer. The results of this research will provide actionable information around environmental exposures to improve personalized lung cancer risk assessment, inform screening criteria and programs and improve lung cancer early detection efforts across Canada. For additional details: https://cancer.ca/en/research/for-researchers/funding-results/breakthrough-team-grants/changing-the-narrative-of-lung-cancer-to-improve-prevention-for-non-smokers Dr. Urquhart was interviewed by CBC Radio to discuss this work project: https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/2189846083866 CBC Interview in Print: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/dalhousie-environmental-risk-lung-cancer-screening-nova-scotia-1.6805468

New Publication

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Congratulations to Majouni et al. on the new publication, “Applying Machine Learning to Arsenic Species and Metallomics Profiles of Toenails to Evaluate Associations of Environmental Arsenic with Incident Cancer Cases.” This research involves analyzing toenail samples from Atlantic PATH, as well as machine learning algorithms to arsenic species and metallomics profiles to investigate the complex association between environmental arsenic as a carcinogen and prostate cancer. https://ebooks.iospress.nl/doi/10.3233/SHTI220385  

Congratulations to Dr. Robin Urquhart and the CanPath team across the country!

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Funded by the Canadian Cancer Society Data Transformation Grant, this work will connect cancer registry and administrative health data with CanPath data creating a unified resource for cancer research in Canada. https://bit.ly/3OojlZ2 Urquhart R, Awadalla P, Bhatti P, Dummer T, Gravel S, Vena J, Alvi R, Broet P, Kendell C, Kirsh V, Lettre G, Skead K, Sweeney E, Turner D. Harnessing the power of linked data to understand cancer and its outcomes: a national linkage project. March 2022-March 2023, CCS Data Transformation Grant. Canada has a wealth of health care and health research data, but numerous barriers prevent efficient sharing of these datasets between provinces. This, combined with further difficulties with linking datasets together, causes major limitations in using the data productively to improve the health of Canadians. With support from the Canadian Cancer Society, Dr Urquhart will lead a team to connect several cancer registry and administrative health data repositories, creating a unified resource for cancer research in Canada. One of the datasets, CanPath, contains data on 1 in 100 Canadians, including lifestyle, family histories, genetics and environment and this, combined with other datasets, will be analysed to understand the causes of cancer and what happens to people with cancer in the short- and long-term. The researchers will also be able to ask important questions about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on people who have been diagnosed with cancer during this time. Linking these huge datasets will provide a very important resource for cancer research in Canada.

New Publication! Toenail speciation biomarkers in arsenic‐related disease: a feasibility study for investigating the association between arsenic exposure and chronic disease

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Congratulations to Nathan Smith & colleagues!! Based on his MSc research, this is important foundational work examining toenails as biomarkers for arsenic speciation that Atlantic PATH and the HERC Lab continue to build on. https://bit.ly/332UU0r