• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.17
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• pp.7613-7618
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• 2015

Childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is one of the most common hematologic malignancies which accounts for one fourth of all childhood cancer cases. Exposure to environmental factors around the time of conception or pregnancy can increase the risk of ALL in the offspring. This study aimed to evaluate the influence of prenatal and postnatal exposure to high voltage power lines on the incidence of childhood ALL. It also examines the role of various factors such as environmental factors and alpha-amylase as a marker in the development of leukemia.This cross-sectional case control study was carried out on 22 cases and 100 controls who born and lived in low socioeconomic families in Tehran and were hospitalized for therapeutic purposes in different hospitals ofrom 2013-2014. With regard to the underlying risk factors; familial history and parental factors were detected as risk factors of ALL but in this age, socioeonomic and zonal matched case control study, prenatal and childhood exposure to high voltage power lines was considered as the most important environmental risk factor (p=0.006, OR=3.651, CI 95% 1.692-7.878). As the population study was from low socioeconomic state, use of mobiles, computers and microwaves was negligible. Moreover prenatal and postnatal exposure to all indoor electrically charged objects were not detected as significant environmental factors in the present study. This work defined the risk of environmental especially continuous pre and postnatal exposure to high voltage power lines and living in pollutant regions through the parents or children as well as the previously described risk factors of ALL for the first time in low socioeconomic status Iranian population.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.12
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• pp.6005-6010
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• 2012

Background: Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is endemic in Southern Chinese and Southeast Asian populations. Geographical and ethnic clustering of the cancer is due to genetic, environmental, and lifestyle risk factors. This case-control study aimed to identify or confirm both genetic and non-genetic risk factors for NPC in one of the endemic countries, Malaysia. Materials and Methods: A panel of 768 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) previously associated with various cancers and known non-genetic risk factors for NPC were selected and analyzed for their associations with NPC in a case-control study. Results: Statistical analysis identified 40 SNPs associated with NPC risk in our population, including 5 documented previously by genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and other case-control studies; the associations of the remaining 35 SNPs with NPC were novel. In addition, consistent with previous studies, exposure to occupational hazards, overconsumption of salt-cured foods, red meat, as well as low intake of fruits and vegetables were also associated with NPC risk. Conclusions: In short, this study confirmed and/or identified genetic, environmental and dietary risk factors associated with NPC susceptibility in a Southeast Asian population.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.5
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• pp.2069-2079
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• 2012

Background and Objective: A comprehensive overall review of gastric cancer (GC) risk and protective factors is a high priority, so we conducted the present study. Methods: Systematic searches in common medical electronic databases along with reference tracking were conducted to include all kinds of systematic reviews (SRs) about GC risk and protective factors. Two authors independently selected studies, extracted data, and evaluated the methodological qualities and the quality of evidence using R-AMSTAR and GRADE approaches. Results: Beta-carotene below 20 mg/day, fruit, vegetables, non-fermented soy-foods, whole-grain, and dairy product were GC protective factors, while beta-carotene 20 mg/day or above, pickled vegetables, fermented soy-foods, processed meat 30g/d or above, or salty foods, exposure to alcohol or smoking, occupational exposure to Pb, overweight and obesity, helicobacter pylori infection were GC risk factors. So we suggested screening and treating H. pylori infection, limiting the amount of food containing risk factors (processed meat consumption, beta-carotene, pickled vegetables, fermented soy-foods, salty foods, alcohol), stopping smoking, avoiding excessive weight gain, avoidance of Pb, and increasing the quantity of food containing protective components (fresh fruit and vegetables, non-fermented soy-foods, whole-grain, dairy products). Conclusions: The conclusions and recommendations of our study were limited by including SRs with poor methodological bases and low quality of evidence, so that more research applying checklists about assessing the methodological qualities and reporting are needed for the future.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.33 no.1 s.94
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• pp.1-10
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• 2007

This study accomplished to grasp the present condition of HAPs and to examine efficiently carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic health effects through health risk assessment in new apartments from June, 2004 to May,2005. Moreover, we performed uncertainty analysis by Monte-Carlo analysis to control uncertainty of exposure factors. The major results obtained from this study were as follows. Firstly, cancer risk of formaldehyde for male was $1.67{\times}10^{-5}$ in CTE in point estimation. Cancer risk of formaldehyde was showed $2.94{\times}10^{-3}$ in RME that applied worst case used results of 95 percentile in point estimation. It exceeds $10^{-6}$ of guide line in US EPA. Moreover, cancer risks of formaldehyde for female were $3.98{\times}10^{-5}$ in CTE and $3.93{\times}10^{-3}$ RME. Secondly, every hazard index for non-carcinogenic pollutants was less than 1 of permitted standards in CTE. However, in RME of male, hazard indexes of 1,2-Dichloropropane and Toluene were 1.3 and 2.0, respectively. Hazard indexes of 1,2-Dichloropropane and Totuene for female in RME were 1.7 and 2.6, respectively.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.36-44
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• 2007

Objectives : There have been few studies examining the differences in health care utilization across social classes during the last year of life. Therefore, in this study we analyzed the quantitative and qualitative differences in health care utilization among cancer patients across educational classes in their last year of life, and derived from it implications for policy. Methods : To evaluate health care utilization by cancer patients in the last year of life, Death certificate data from 2004 were merged with National Health Insurance data (n=60,088). In order to use educational level as a social class index, we selected the individuals aged 40 and over as study subjects (n=57,484). We analyzed the differences in the medical expenditures, admission days, and rates of admission experience across educational classes descriptively. Multiple regression analysis was conducted to evaluate the association between medical expenditures and independent variables such as sex, age, education class, site of death and type of cancer. Results : The upper educational class spent much more on medical expenditures in the last one year of life, particularly during the last month of life, than the lower educational class did. The ratio of monthly medical expenditures per capita between the college class and no education class was 2.5 in the last 6-12 months of life, but the ratio was 1.6 in the last 1 month. Also, the lower the educational class, the higher the proportion of medical expenditures during the last one month of life, compared to total medical expenditures in the last one year of life. The college educational class had a much higher rate of admission experiences in tertiary hospitals within Seoul than the other education classes did. Conclusions : This study shows that the lower educational classes had qualitative and quantitative disadvantages in utilizing health care services for cancer in the last year of life.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.11
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• pp.6523-6528
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• 2013

Background: Cigarette smoking is the largest single recognized cause of human cancers. In Western countries, many epidemiologists have reported risk factors for kidney cancer including smoking. However, little is known about the Japanese population. Materials and Methods: We evaluated the association of smoking with the risk of kidney cancer death in the Japan Collaborative Cohort (JACC) Study. Participants included 46,395 males and 64,190 females. The Cox proportional hazards model was used to determine age-and-sex adjusted relative risks. Results: A total of 62 males and 26 females died from kidney cancer during the follow-up of 707,136 and 1,025,703 person-years, respectively. Heavy smokers (Brinkman index >1200), fondness of fatty foods, hypertension, diabetes mellitus (DM), and obesity were suggested to increase the risk of renal cell carcinoma while walking was suggested to decrease the risk. Even after controlling for age, sex, alcohol drinking and DM, heavy smoking significantly increased the risk. Conclusions: The present study suggests that six factors including smoking may increase and/or reduce the risk of kidney cancer in the Japanese population. Because of the small number of outcomes, however, we did not evaluate these factors after adjusting for all possible confounding factors. Further studies may be needed to confirm the findings in this study.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.267-275
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• 2005

Evidence on the relation of socioeconomic position (SEP) with health and illness is mounting in South Korea. Several unlinked studies and individually linked studies (longitudinal study) showed a graded inverse relationship between SEP and mortality among South Korean males and females. Based on the mortality relative ratios by occupational class reported in the published papers of South Korea and western countries, the magnitude of the socioeconomic inequality in mortality in South Korea seems to be similar to or even greater than that in western industrialized countries. A potential contribution of health related selection, health behaviors and psychosocial factors to explain this socioeconomic inequality in mortality was discussed. It was suggested that early life exposure measures would demonstrate a greater ability to explain socioeconomic inequalities in all-cause mortality than the above pathway variables in South Korea. This is based on the cause-specific structure of mortality among the South Korean population who have a relatively greater proportion of stomach cancer, hemorrhagic stroke, liver cancer and liver disease, and tuberculosis, which share early life exposures as important elements of their etiology, than western countries. However, the relative contribution of early and later life socioeconomic conditions in producing socioeconomic inequality in health may differ according to the outcome, thus remains to be investigated.

• Environmental Analysis Health and Toxicology
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• v.29
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• pp.9.1-9.3
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• 2014

Diesel exhaust particles (DEP) contain elemental carbon, organic compounds including Polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), metals, and other trace compounds. Diesel exhaust is complex mixture of thousands of chemicals. Over forty air contaminants are recognized as toxicants, such as carcinogens. Most diesel exhaust particles have aerodynamic diameters falling within a range of 0.1 to $0.25{\mu}m$. DEP was classified as a definite human carcinogen (group 1) by the International Agency for Research on Cancer at 2012 based on recently sufficient epidemiological evidence for lung cancer. Significant decreases in DEP and other diesel exhaust constituents will not be evident immediately, and outworn diesel car having longer mileage still threatens health of people in spite of recent remarkable development in diesel engine technology. Policy change in South Korea, such as introduction of diesel taxi, may raise health risk of air pollution in metropolitan area with these limitations of diesel engine. To protect people against DEP in South Korea, progressive strategies are needed, including disallowance of diesel taxi, more strict regulation of diesel engine emission, obligatory diesel particulate filter attachment in outworn diesel car, and close monitoring about health effects of DEP.

• Archives of Craniofacial Surgery
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• v.21 no.5
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• pp.315-318
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• 2020

Side effects of tattoos can occur due to unexpected body responses. Concerns about the side effects of tattoos are growing concomitantly with the increasing number of tattooed individuals. We report a rare case of basal cell carcinoma (BCC) on a tattooed eyebrow. A 48-year-old woman with no family history or occupational risk of skin cancer had her eyebrows tattooed 6 years prior, and she noticed a black mass on her right eyebrow 1 year before presentation. Staged excision was planned due to the patient's reluctance regarding the possibility of a wide scar. After the first surgical procedure, a histopathological examination confirmed BCC. Wide excision and primary closure were performed for remnant BCC, and no recurrence was observed. The mechanism of skin neoplasms involving tattoos has not been clearly identified. Unapproved tattoo inks contain carcinogenic substances, and previous case reports indicate that skin neoplasms may differ depending on the tattoo color. Therefore, the carcinogenic effects of these unknown components of tattoo ink might cause skin neoplasms. Accurate component analysis and systematic management of tattoo ink is necessary, and medical practitioners must also pay attention to this possibility because it is easy to overlook tattoos as a causal factor contributing to cancer.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.15
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• pp.5999-6003
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• 2014

Pesticides used in Korea are grouped by four classes of hazard (extremely, highly, moderately and slightly hazardous) based on acute oral and dermal toxicity in the rat. However, there is little information of carcinogenic effects. The aim of this study was to evaluate potential carcinogenicity for active ingredients of pesticides used in Korea. A total of 1,283 pesticide items were registered under the Pesticide Control Act of which 987 were commercially available. Of these 987 items, 360 active ingredients not duplicated were evaluated for carcinogenicity using the carcinogen list established by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Some 25 out of 360 ingredients were classified as likely to be carcinogenic (probable) to humans and 52 had suggestive evidence of carcinogenic potential (suspected) based on the US EPA classification. Some 31% of 987 items contained probable or suspected human carcinogenic ingredients. Carcinogenic pesticides accounted for 24% (5,856/24,795 tons) of the total volume of consumption in Korea. Interestingly, pesticides with lower acute toxicity were found to have higher carcinogenic potential. Based on these findings, the study suggests that it is important to provide information on long-term toxicity to farmers, in addition to acute toxicity data.