Variation in lung cancer risk by smoky coal subtype in Xuanwei, China

Lan, Qing; He, Xingzhou; Shen, Min; Tian, Linwei; Liu, Larry Z.; Li, Hong; Chen, Wei; Berndt, Sonja I.; Hosgood, H. Dean; Lee, Kyoung-mu; Zheng, Tongzhang; Blair, Aaron; Chapman, Robert S.

doi:10.1002/ijc.23748

Cited by 82 publications

(93 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…concluded that the excess risk of lung cancer death for a worker exposed to 100 μg/m 3 for 45 years was approximately 1.5 times that of if they had not been exposed. 21 Not only are these values far in excess of what is reported in the current paper, the risk estimate associated with this level of exposure is insufficient to explain the difference in lung cancer rates between smoky and smokeless coal users (where the risk of lung cancer among smoky coal users can be up to 100 times that of smokeless coal users 22 ). We should note however, that occupational exposure limits and surveys may not be fully applicable to the situation in Xuanwei and Fuyuan, as exposure is lifelong and continuous throughout much of the day, compared to occupational exposure which only occurs during working hours in adult life.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 56%

Quartz in ash, and air in a high lung cancer incidence area in China

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Rothman

et al. 2017

Environmental Pollution

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Exposure to crystalline silica (quartz) has been implicated as a potential cause of the high lung cancer rates in the neighbouring counties of Xuanwei and Fuyuan, China, where the domestic combustion of locally sourced “smoky” coal (a bituminous coal) is responsible for some of the highest lung cancer rates in the nation, irrespective of gender or smoking status. Previous studies have shown that smoky coal contains approximately twice as much quartz when compared to alternative fuels in the area, although it is unclear how the quartz in coal relates to household air pollution. Samples of ash and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) were collected from 163 households and analysed for quartz content by Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). Additionally, air samples from 12 further households, were analysed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to evaluate particle structure and silica content. The majority (89%) of household air samples had undetectable quartz levels (< 0.2μg/m3) with no clear differences by fuel-type. SEM analyses indicated that there were higher amounts of silica in the smoke of smoky coal than smokeless coal (0.27 μg/m3 vs. 0.03 μg/m3). We also identified fibre-like particles in a higher concentration within the smoke of smoky coal than smokeless coal (5,800 fibres/m3 vs. 550 fibres/m3). Ash analysis suggested that the bulk of the quartz in smoky coal went on to form part of the ash. These findings indicate that the quartz within smoky coal does not become adequately airborne during the combustion process to cause significant lung cancer risk, instead going on to form part of the ash. The identification of fibre-like particles in air samples is an interesting finding, although the clinical relevance of this finding remains unclear.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 56%

Quartz in ash, and air in a high lung cancer incidence area in China

Downward

Rothman

et al. 2017

Environmental Pollution

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“…5, 6 Constituents of smoky coal and its emissions have been explored in an attempt to pinpoint those that account for lung cancer risk. 7–10, 25, 26 Here, we integrated untargeted adductomics with external exposure measurements to investigate the influence of fuel type and external exposures on downstream biological processes that are reflected by Cys34 adducts.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…13, 14 However, the heterogeneity of emissions of PAHs and other combustion products, even across subtypes of smoky coal has complicated analysis of exposure-response relationships. 7–10 …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Profiling the Serum Albumin Cys34 Adductome of Solid Fuel Users in Xuanwei and Fuyuan, China

Grigoryan

Edmands

et al. 2016

Environ. Sci. Technol.

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Xuanwei and Fuyuan counties in China have the highest lung cancer rates in the world due to household air pollution from combustion of smoky coal for cooking and heating. To discover potential biomarkers of indoor combustion products, we profiled adducts at the Cys34 locus of human serum albumin (HSA) in 29 nonsmoking Xuanwei and Fuyuan females who used smoky coal, smokeless coal or wood, and 10 local controls who used electricity or gas fuel. Our untargeted ‘adductomics’ method detected 50 tryptic peptides of HSA, containing Cys34 and prominent post-translational modifications. Putative adducts included Cys34 oxidation products, mixed disulfides, rearrangements and truncations. The most significant differences in adduct levels across fuel types were observed for S-glutathione (S-GSH) and S-γ-glutamylcysteine (S-γ-GluCys), both of which were present at lower levels in subjects exposed to combustion products than in controls. After adjustment for age and personal measurements of airborne benzo(a)pyrene, the largest reductions in levels of S-GSH and S-γ-GluCys relative to controls were observed for users of smoky coal, compared to users of smokeless coal and wood. These results point to possible depletion of GSH, an essential antioxidant, and its precursor γ-GluCys in nonsmoking females exposed to indoor-combustion products in Xuanwei and Fuyuan, China.

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“…The primary source of indoor air pollution in Xuan Wei is smoke from domestic fuel combustion for heating and cooking with most residents burning smoky coal (bituminous coal) and some using smokeless coal (anthracite coal). Smoky coal use in Xuan Wei homes is associated with very high and comparable risks of lung cancer in both men and women (7,8).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%