Formaldehyde is a widely used but highly reactive and toxic chemical. The International Agency for Research on Cancer classifies formaldehyde as a Group 1 carcinogen, based on nasopharyngeal cancer and leukemia studies. However, the correlation between formaldehyde exposure and leukemia incidence is a controversial issue. To understand the association between formaldehyde exposure and leukemia, we explored biological networks based on formaldehyde-related genes retrieved from public and commercial databases. Through the literature-based network approach, we summarized qualitative associations between formaldehyde exposure and leukemia. Our results indicate that oxidative stress-mediated genetic changes induced by formaldehyde could disturb the hematopoietic system, possibly leading to leukemia. Furthermore, we suggested major genes that are thought to be affected by formaldehyde exposure and associated with leukemia development. Our suggestions can be used to complement experimental data for understanding and identifying the leukemogenic mechanism of formaldehyde.
As industry develops in modern society, many chemicals are being used. The safety of chemicals is an important issue because humans are constantly exposed to chemicals throughout their daily life. Through a risk assessment, the hazardous human effects of chemicals can be identified. Recently, the adverse outcome pathway (AOP) framework has been used to predict the adverse effects of chemicals. As a conceptual framework for organizing existing biological knowledge, the AOP consists of a molecular initiating event, key events, and an adverse outcome. These independent elements represent biological responses and are connected by key event relationships. This AOP framework provides intuitive hazard identification that can be helpful for carcinogenic risk assessment of chemicals. In this review, we introduce the application of the AOP framework to risk assessment for predicting carcinogenicity of chemicals and illustrate the utility of this approach for cancer prevention.
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