Fragile sites and bladder cancer.

Continued reports of associations between environmentally induced chromosomal fragile sites and cancer prompted us to undertake a review of current literature to examine whether there might be a relationship between fragile sites and chromosomal alterations reported for bladder cancer. It was found that more than half (56%; odds ratio [OR] = 4.70) of chromosomal rearrangements reported for bladder cancer were located at 77 (65%) of the 118 recognized fragile sites (OR = 6.

The detection of Chlamydia pneumoniae in atherosclerotic plaques of Australian subjects.

Aim: To determine whether the common respiratory pathogen, Chlamydia pneumoniae, was associated with atherosclerotic plaques in Australian subjects.

Methods: A total of 29 coronary atherosclerotic lesions and 18 normal coronary arterial samples were tested for the presence of C. pneumoniae by PCR and immunofluorescence methods.

Organophosphate-based pesticides and genetic damage implicated in bladder cancer.

Organophosphate-based pesticides have been associated with pathology and chromosomal damage in humans. There are also epidemiologic links with cancer. The few screening tests for low-level occupational exposure are of doubtful sensitivity; this investigation evaluated four methods.