29
views
0
recommends
+1 Recommend
0 collections
    0
    shares
      • Record: found
      • Abstract: found
      • Article: not found

      Cancer effects of formaldehyde: a proposal for an indoor air guideline value

      review-article
      ,
      Archives of Toxicology
      Springer-Verlag
      Formaldehyde, Cancer, Risk assessment, Indoor air guideline

      Read this article at

      ScienceOpenPublisherPMC
      Bookmark
          There is no author summary for this article yet. Authors can add summaries to their articles on ScienceOpen to make them more accessible to a non-specialist audience.

          Abstract

          Formaldehyde is a ubiquitous indoor air pollutant that is classified as “Carcinogenic to humans (Group 1)” (IARC, Formaldehyde, 2-butoxyethanol and 1- tert-butoxypropanol-2-ol. IARC monographs on the evaluation of carcinogenic risks to humans, vol 88. World Health Organization, Lyon, pp 39–325, 2006). For nasal cancer in rats, the exposure–response relationship is highly non-linear, supporting a no-observed-adverse-effect level (NOAEL) that allows setting a guideline value. Epidemiological studies reported no increased incidence of nasopharyngeal cancer in humans below a mean level of 1 ppm and peak levels below 4 ppm, consistent with results from rat studies. Rat studies indicate that cytotoxicity-induced cell proliferation (NOAEL at 1 ppm) is a key mechanism in development of nasal cancer. However, the linear unit risk approach that is based on conservative (“worst-case”) considerations is also used for risk characterization of formaldehyde exposures. Lymphohematopoietic malignancies are not observed consistently in animal studies and if caused by formaldehyde in humans, they are high-dose phenomenons with non-linear exposure–response relationships. Apparently, these diseases are not reported in epidemiological studies at peak exposures below 2 ppm and average exposures below 0.5 ppm. At the similar airborne exposure levels in rodents, the nasal cancer effect is much more prominent than lymphohematopoietic malignancies. Thus, prevention of nasal cancer is considered to prevent lymphohematopoietic malignancies. Departing from the rat studies, the guideline value of the WHO (Air quality guidelines for Europe, 2nd edn. World Health Organization, Regional Office for Europe, Copenhagen, pp 87–91, 2000), 0.08 ppm (0.1 mg m −3) formaldehyde, is considered preventive of carcinogenic effects in compliance with epidemiological findings.

          Related collections

          Most cited references94

          • Record: found
          • Abstract: not found
          • Article: not found

          A review of human carcinogens--Part F: chemical agents and related occupations.

            Bookmark
            • Record: found
            • Abstract: found
            • Article: not found

            Formaldehyde exposure and leukemia: a new meta-analysis and potential mechanisms.

            Formaldehyde is an economically important chemical, to which more than 2 million U.S. workers are occupationally exposed. Substantially more people are exposed to formaldehyde environmentally, as it is generated by automobile engines, is a component of tobacco smoke and is released from household products, including furniture, particleboard, plywood, and carpeting. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) recently classified formaldehyde as a human carcinogen that causes nasopharyngeal cancer and also concluded that there is "strong but not sufficient evidence for a causal association between leukemia and occupational exposure to formaldehyde". Here, we review the epidemiological studies published to date on formaldehyde-exposed workers and professionals in relation to lymphohematopoietic malignances. In a new meta-analysis of these studies, focusing on occupations known to have high formaldehyde exposure, we show that summary relative risks (RRs) were elevated in 15 studies of leukemia (RR=1.54; confidence interval (CI), 1.18-2.00) with the highest relative risks seen in the six studies of myeloid leukemia (RR=1.90; 95% CI, 1.31-2.76). The biological plausibility of this observed association is discussed and potential mechanisms proposed. We hypothesize that formaldehyde may act on bone marrow directly or, alternatively, may cause leukemia by damaging the hematopoietic stem or early progenitor cells that are located in the circulating blood or nasal passages, which then travel to the bone marrow and become leukemic stem cells. To test these hypotheses, we recommend that future studies apply biomarkers validated for other chemical leukemogens to the study of formaldehyde.
              Bookmark
              • Record: found
              • Abstract: found
              • Article: not found

              DNA-protein crosslinks: their induction, repair, and biological consequences.

              The covalent crosslinking of proteins to DNA presents a major physical challenge to the DNA metabolic machinery. DNA-protein crosslinks (DPCs) are induced by a variety of endogenous and exogenous agents (including, paradoxically, agents that are known to cause cancer as well as agents that are used to treat cancer), and yet they have not received as much attention as other types of DNA damage. This review summarizes the current state of knowledge of DPCs in terms of their induction, structures, biological consequences and possible mechanisms of repair. DPCs can be formed through several different chemistries, which is likely to affect the stability and repair of these lesions, as well as their biological consequences. The considerable discrepancy in the DPC literature reflects both the varying chemistries of this heterogeneous group of lesions and the fact that a number of different methods have been used for their analysis. In particular, research in this area has long been hampered by the inability to chemically define these lesions in intact cells and tissues. However, the emergence of proteomics as a tool for identifying specific proteins that become crosslinked to DNA has heralded a new era in our ability to study these lesions. Although there are still many unanswered questions, the identification of specific proteins crosslinked to DNA should facilitate our understanding of the down-stream effects of these lesions.
                Bookmark

                Author and article information

                Contributors
                +45-39165241 , +45-39165201 , gdn@nrcwe.dk
                Journal
                Arch Toxicol
                Archives of Toxicology
                Springer-Verlag (Berlin/Heidelberg )
                0340-5761
                1432-0738
                14 May 2010
                14 May 2010
                June 2010
                : 84
                : 6
                : 423-446
                Affiliations
                National Research Centre for the Working Environment, Lersø Parkallé 105, 2100 Copenhagen Ø, Denmark
                Article
                549
                10.1007/s00204-010-0549-1
                2874486
                20467865
                a3a2f0f0-86ad-4e46-a98c-eef979f6e1d0
                © The Author(s) 2010
                History
                : 18 January 2010
                : 19 April 2010
                Categories
                Review Article
                Custom metadata
                © Springer-Verlag 2010

                Toxicology
                cancer,indoor air guideline,risk assessment,formaldehyde
                Toxicology
                cancer, indoor air guideline, risk assessment, formaldehyde

                Comments

                Comment on this article