Application of the Key Characteristics of Carcinogens to Bisphenol A.

The ten key characteristics (KCs) of carcinogens are based on characteristics of known human carcinogens and encompass many types of endpoints. We propose that an objective review of the large amount of cancer mechanistic evidence for the chemical bisphenol A (BPA) can be achieved through use of these KCs. A search on metabolic and mechanistic data relevant to the carcinogenicity of BPA was conducted and web-based software tools were used to screen and organize the results.

Estimated Cancer Risks Associated with Nitrosamine Contamination in Commonly Used Medications.

Many nitrosamines are potent carcinogens, with more than 30 listed under California's Proposition 65. Recently, nitrosamine contamination of commonly used drugs for treatment of hypertension, heartburn, and type 2 diabetes has prompted numerous Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recalls in the US. These contaminants include the carcinogens NDMA (N-nitrosodimethylamine) and NDEA (N-nitrosodiethylamine) and the animal tumorigen NMBA (N-nitroso-N-methyl-4-aminobutyric acid).

Occupational exposure to antimony trioxide: a risk assessment.

Objectives: The US National Toxicology Program (NTP) recently recommended in its Report on Carcinogens Monograph for Antimony Trioxide that antimony trioxide be listed as '' based on sufficient evidence of carcinogenicity in experimental animals and supporting evidence from mechanistic studies. Our goal was to estimate the possible human cancer risk from occupational exposure to antimony trioxide.

Methods: We selected data from 2-year inhalation studies in male and female mice conducted by the NTP and performed cancer dose-response analyses using cancer models and benchmark dose methods developed by the US Environmental Protection Agency.

Trends in neurodevelopmental disability burden due to early life chemical exposure in the USA from 2001 to 2016: A population-based disease burden and cost analysis.

Endocrine disrupting chemicals are known to cause neurodevelopmental toxicity through direct and indirect pathways. In this study we used data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys, along with known exposure-disease relationships, to quantify the intellectual disability burden attributable to in utero exposure to polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), organophosphates, and methylmercury and early life exposure to lead. We also estimated the cost of the IQ points lost and cases of intellectual disability.

Cancer Hazard Identification Integrating Human Variability: The Case of Coumarin.

Coumarin is a naturally occurring sweet-smelling benzopyrone that may be extracted from plants or synthesized for commercial uses. Its uses include as a flavoring agent, fragrance enhancer, and odor-masking additive. We reviewed and evaluated the scientific evidence on the carcinogenicity of coumarin, integrating information from carcinogenicity studies in animals with mechanistic and other relevant data, including data from toxicogenomic, genotoxicity, and metabolism studies, and studies of human variability of a key enzyme, CYP2A6.

The association between gut microbiome and anthropometric measurements in Bangladesh.

Our objective was to investigate the relationship between the gut microbiota and anthropometric measurements among 248 participants from the Health Effects of Arsenic Longitudinal Study (HEALS) in Bangladesh. Our cohort represents a unique population that allows for the investigation of the gut microbiota and anthropometric measurements in lean individuals. We measured height, weight, arm, thigh, hip, and waist circumferences, and collected fecal samples.

Assessing health risks from multiple environmental stressors: Moving from G×E to I×E.

Research on disease causation often attempts to isolate the effects of individual factors, including individual genes or environmental factors. This reductionist approach has generated many discoveries, but misses important interactive and cumulative effects that may help explain the broad range of variability in disease occurrence observed across studies and individuals. A disease rarely results from a single factor, and instead results from a broader combination of factors, characterized here as intrinsic (I) and extrinsic (E) factors.

Screening for Chemical Contributions to Breast Cancer Risk: A Case Study for Chemical Safety Evaluation.

Background: Current approaches to chemical screening, prioritization, and assessment are being reenvisioned, driven by innovations in chemical safety testing, new chemical regulations, and demand for information on human and environmental impacts of chemicals. To conceptualize these changes through the lens of a prevalent disease, the Breast Cancer and Chemicals Policy project convened an interdisciplinary expert panel to investigate methods for identifying chemicals that may increase breast cancer risk.

Methods: Based on a review of current evidence, the panel identified key biological processes whose perturbation may alter breast cancer risk.

Evaluating chemical effects on mammary gland development: A critical need in disease prevention.

Although understanding the environmental factors that contribute to breast cancer could improve disease prevention, standard chemical testing protocols do not adequately evaluate chemicals' effects on breast development. Evidence suggests: (1) mammary gland (MG) development is a complex process that extends from gestation through fetal and neonatal growth, puberty, and pregnancy; (2) altered MG development can increase the risk of breast cancer and other adverse outcomes; and (3) chemical exposures during susceptible windows of development may alter the MG in ways that increase risk for later disease. Together, these highlight the need to better understand the complex relationship between exposure to endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) and the alterations in MG morphology and gene expression that ultimately increase disease risk.