Bhopal Methyl Isocyanate Affected Population and Cancer Susceptibility: Where Do We Stand Now?

Senthilkumar, Chinnu Sugavanam

doi:10.7314/apjcp.2012.13.10.5323

Cited by 4 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…Whether exposure to MIC induces a site-specific cancer is still a point of much controversy (Senthilkumar et al, 2012). The bottleneck faced by the scientific community in this regard is mainly due to attempts on extrapolation of the data on the animals to human studies (Senthilkumar, 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Increased Micronucleus Frequency in Peripheral Blood Lymphocytes Contributes to Cancer Risk in the Methyl Isocyanate-Affected Population of Bhopal

Senthilkumar¹,

Akhter²,

Malla³

et al. 2015

Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention

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The Bhopal gas tragedy involving methyl isocyanate (MIC) is one of the most horrific industrial accidents in recent decades. We investigated the genotoxic effects of MIC in long-term survivors and their offspring born after the 1984 occurrence. There are a few cytogenetic reports showing genetic damage in the MIC-exposed survivors, but there is no information about the associated cancer risk. The same is true about offspring. For the first time, we here assessed the micronucleus (MN) frequency using cytokinesis-blocked micronucleus (CBMN) assay to predict cancer risk in the MIC-affected population of Bhopal. A total of 92 healthy volunteers (46 MICaffected and 46 controls) from Bhopal and various regions of India were studied taking gender and age into consideration. Binucleated lymphocytes with micronuclei (BNMN), total number of micronuclei in lymphocytes (MNL), and nuclear division index (NDI) frequencies and their relationship to age, gender and several lifestyle variabilities (smoking, alcohol consumption and tobacco-chewing) were investigated. Our observations showed relatively higher BNMN and MNL (P<0.05) in the MIC-affected than in the controls. Exposed females (EF) exhibited significantly higher BNMN and MNL (P<0.01) than their unexposed counterparts. Similarly, female offspring of the exposed (FOE) also suffered higher BNMN and MNL (P<0.05) than in controls. A significant reduction in NDI (P<0.05) was found only in EF. The affected group of non-smokers and non-alcoholics featured a higher frequency of BNMN and MNL than the control group of non-smokers and non-alcoholics (P<0.01). Similarly, the affected group of tobacco chewers showed significantly higher BNMN and MNL (P<0.001) than the non-chewers. Amongst the affected, smoking and alcohol consumption were not associated with statistically significant differences in BNMN, MNL and NDI. Nevertheless, tobacco-chewing had a preponderant effect with respect to MNL. A reasonable correlation between MNL and lifestyle habits (smoking, alcohol consumption and tobacco-chewing) was observed only in the controls. Our results suggest that EF and FOE are more susceptible to cancer development, as compared to EM and MOE. The genotoxic outcome detected in FOE reflects their parental exposure to MIC. Briefly, the observed cytogenetic damage to the MIC-affected could contribute to cancer risk, especially in the EF and FOE.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Increased Micronucleus Frequency in Peripheral Blood Lymphocytes Contributes to Cancer Risk in the Methyl Isocyanate-Affected Population of Bhopal

Senthilkumar¹,

Akhter²,

Malla³

et al. 2015

Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention

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“…Undoubtedly, another group who should be in the debate is the life-threatening chemical exposed people surviving with chronic respiratory disorders. Here, we emphasize one such population who faced the World's worst chemical disaster in 1984 in Bhopal (Figure 1), survived the deadly methyl isocyanate (MIC) exposure with multiple complications including cancers [5][6][7] , pulmonary function abnormalities 8 , and obstructive lung function 9 . Almost thirty-five years over, the MIC-exposed long-term survivors and their offspring born post-exposure (also referred to as the Bhopal MIC-affected population) and their health status remain controversial.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Susceptibility of the Bhopal–methyl isocyanate (MIC)–gas–tragedy survivors and their offspring to COVID-19: What we know, what we don’t and what we should?

Senthilkumar¹,

Malla

Akhter

et al. 2020

Ciênc. saúde coletiva

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There is credible evidence that the 1984–Bhopal–methyl isocyanate (MIC)–gas–exposed long-term survivors and their offspring born post-exposure are susceptible to infectious/communicable and non-communicable diseases. Bhopal’s COVID-19 fatality rate suggests that the MIC–gas tragedy survivors are at higher risk, owing to a weakened immune system and co-morbidities. This situation emboldened us to ponder over what we know, what we don’t, and what we should know about their susceptibility to COVID-19. This article aims at answering these three questions that emerge in the minds of public health officials concerning prevention strategies against COVID-19 and health promotion in the Bhopal MIC-affected population (BMAP). Our views and opinions presented in this article will draw attention to prevent and reduce the consequences of COVID-19 in BMAP. From the perspective of COVID-19 prophylaxis, the high-risk individuals from BMAP with co-morbidities need to be identified through a door-to-door visit to the severely gas-affected regions and advised to maintain good respiratory hygiene, regular intake of immune-boosting diet, and follow healthy lifestyle practices.

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“…610) at the Bhopal Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL) plant. This catastrophe took a toll of 3800 human lives instantly (Broughton, 2005) and about 0.2 million residents were exposed to MIC at high (over 27 ppm) to varying degrees of concentrations (Senthilkumar, 2012; Senthilkumar et al, 2013). Among the exposed survivors, 50,000 were expected to survive with long-term effects (Varma and Guest, 1993).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

On the long-term effects of methyl isocyanate on cell-mediated immunity in Bhopal gas-exposed long-term survivors and their offspring

2016

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Methyl isocyanate (MIC) is a toxic industrial chemical that is documented as a potent respiratory toxicant. We investigated cell-mediated immunity (CMI) in the MIC-exposed long-term survivors and their offspring born after the Bhopal gas-leak tragedy in 1984. Several earlier reports show inconsistency in the assessment of immunological effects of MIC on the human population. In these studies, important factors including lifestyle attributes were overlooked. We incorporated these factors also in our study of the basic cell-mediated immune function in the Bhopal MIC-affected population. Twenty-seven years after exposure, we assessed the circulating T-lymphocyte frequency using E-Rosette assay. A total of 46 MIC-exposed healthy long-term survivors and their offspring were studied vis-a-vis parallel gender-age group-matched unexposed controls from Bhopal and various other regions of India. The influence of several lifestyle variabilities (smoking, alcohol intake, and tobacco chewing) on T-lymphocyte frequency was also taken into consideration. Our observations suggest that Erythrocyte-Rosette-forming cell (E-RFC) distribution frequency is largely insignificant in the MIC-affected population as compared to controls ( p > 0.05). In the MIC-affected tobacco chewers, there was a trend of suppression in CMI (relative decrease = 10.3%) as compared to nonchewers. Overall, our results show negligible long-term effect of MIC on CMI measured in terms of E-RFC frequency. These observations are not in agreement with earlier findings that immunosuppressive effects of MIC exposure persist in the T-cells of the affected population. However, atypical lymphocytes were frequently observed as E-RFC in the exposed females when compared to all other subgroups. Hematopoietic disorders (atypical lymphocytosis) in the MIC-affected population along with previous reports on the cytogenetic and humoral immune system linking cancer risk and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are important.

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Bhopal Methyl Isocyanate Affected Population and Cancer Susceptibility: Where Do We Stand Now?

Cited by 4 publications

References 8 publications

Increased Micronucleus Frequency in Peripheral Blood Lymphocytes Contributes to Cancer Risk in the Methyl Isocyanate-Affected Population of Bhopal

Increased Micronucleus Frequency in Peripheral Blood Lymphocytes Contributes to Cancer Risk in the Methyl Isocyanate-Affected Population of Bhopal

Susceptibility of the Bhopal–methyl isocyanate (MIC)–gas–tragedy survivors and their offspring to COVID-19: What we know, what we don’t and what we should?

On the long-term effects of methyl isocyanate on cell-mediated immunity in Bhopal gas-exposed long-term survivors and their offspring

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