Jan 16, 2006

Cadmium Lung Cancer Connection

Exposure to cadmium may occur in professions related to welding. The adverse health effects of cadmium are well established. It was suspected that workers who have been exposed to cadmium might have increased risk of developing lung cancer. Previously animal studies have shown a link between exposure to cadmium and development of cancer.

For the first time, now researchers have proved the first direct link between the build-up of industrial emissions of cadmium in the environment and lung cancer.

A Belgian study, published today on the Lancet website, is the first to link the accumulation of cadmium in the environment with higher rates of cancer.
The researchers followed nearly 1,000 people living in Northeast Belgium since 1985. Half lived in areas close to three zinc smelters where exposure was high while the others lived in low exposure areas. By June 2004 19 had died of lung cancer; 15 of them lived in the high exposure areas.

The Belgian study traced cadmium levels in the soils of the participant's gardens and measured their urine to calculate the build-up of cadmium in their bodies. The metal accumulates in the body over time, particularly in the kidneys.

The study, authored by Jan Staessen at the University of Leuven in Belgium, concluded: "We have shown a significant association between risk of lung cancer and environmental exposure to cadmium. To our knowledge, this is the first time such an association has been reported in an environmentally exposed population."

Scott      

Do You Read All Of Our Cancer Blogs?

Do you read all of the blogs published by medicineworld.org? Many of our bloggers are busy keeping you updated on the various health related topics. We publish the following blogs at this time.

Cancer blog: I manage the cancer blog with lots of help and support form other bloggers. Through this cancer blog my friends and I try to bring stories of hope for patients with cancer. The cancer blog often republishes important blog posts from other cancer related blogs at Medicineworld.org. If you are searching for a blog that covers wide variety of cancer topics, this may be the one for you.

Breast cancer blog: Breast cancer blog is run by Emily and other bloggers and they bring you the latest stories, news and events that are related to breast cancer. Increasing awareness about breast cancer among women and in the general population is the main goal of this breast cancer blog.

Lung cancer blog: Lung cancer blog is managed by Scott with the help of other bloggers. Through this blog Scott and his friends constantly remind the readers about the dangers of smoking. It's a never-ending struggle against this miserable disease with which a social stigma of smoking is associated.

Colon cancer blog: Colon cancer blog is run by Sue and other bloggers. Sue brings a personal touch to the colon cancer blog since her mother died of colon cancer few years ago. She writes about stories, research news and advances in treatment related to colon cancer.

Prostate cancer blog: Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among American men. American Cancer Society estimates that over 230,000 new cases of prostate cancer occur in the United state every year. This important blog about prostate cancer is run by Mark and other bloggers. This blog brings news, stories, and other personal observations related to prostate cancer.

Medicineworld.org publishes a diabetes watch blog and this blog is run by JoAnn other bloggers. This diabetes watch blog brings you the latest in the field of diabetes. This includes personal stories, advances in diagnosis and treatment, and other observations about diabetes. Improving awareness about diabetes is an important mission of this group.

Janet      

Lung cancer
We engage a never-ending daily struggle to understand and defeat the hidden mysteries of cancer. This is a long and laborious fight, but some moments stand out as grim reminders of the severity of the problem and ruthlessness of the enemy. We recently heard about the sad demise of Peter Jennings, who was the news anchor of ABC News for a long time.