Leukaemia incidence among workers in the shoe and boot manufacturing industry: a case-control study

BACKGROUND: Previous reports have indicated an excess of leukaemia in Broome County, New York, particularly in the Town of Union. Surveillance of cancer incidence data indicates that a large proportion of these cases occurred among males ages 65 and older. Shoe and boot manufacturing has been the largest single industry in this area throughout much of the past century. Occupational studies from Europe suggest a link between leukaemia and employment in the shoe and boot manufacturing industry. However, researchers have not found a positive association between leukaemia and employment in the shoe industry among workers in the United States. METHODS: A matched case-control study was conducted to investigate the association between leukaemia incidence among males 65 and older and employment in the shoe and boot manufacturing industry. Thirty-six cases of leukaemia occurring between 1981–1990; among males age 65 and older; residing in the town of Union met the study case criteria. Death certificates were obtained for each of the cases. These were matched to death certificates of 144 controls on date of death and date of birth +/- 1 year. Death certificates were then examined to determine the employer and occupation of each study subject. Conditional logistic regression was used to determine the risk of leukaemia among those working in the industry. RESULTS: The risk of both leukaemia (OR = 1.47; 95% CI 0.70, 3.09) and acute myeloid leukaemia (OR = 1.19; 95% CI 0.33, 4.28) were elevated among those employed in the shoe and boot manufacturing industry, however neither was statistically significant. CONCLUSION: The results, though suggestive of an association between leukaemia and employment in the shoe and boot manufacturing industry, were not statistically conclusive due mainly to limited study power. Several additional limitations may also have prevented the observance of more conclusive findings. Better exposure assessment, information on length of exposure and types of job held, control of confounding factors and information on chemicals used by this company would strengthen any future investigation

S100A7 and the progression of breast cancer

The S100 gene family comprises more than 20 members whose protein sequences encompass at least one EF-hand Ca(2+ )binding motif. The expression of individual family members is not ubiquitous for all tissues and there appears to be an element of tissue-specific expression. Molecular analysis of breast tumors has revealed that several S100s, including S100A2, S100A4 and S100A7, exhibit altered expression levels during breast tumorigenesis and/or progression. Subsequent studies have started to describe a functional role for these S100 proteins as well as their mechanism of action and the biochemical pathways they modify. The present review outlines what is known about S100A7 in breast cancer and summarizes the need to better understand the importance of this protein in breast cancer

First generation anticoagulant rodenticide persistence in large mammals and implications for wildlife management

The use of first generation anticoagulants by the Department of Conservation (DOC) for rodent control has increased in recent years. This study estimates the likely hepatic persistence time of diphacinone in red deer, pigs and cattle exposed to a single sublethal dose, as well as coumatetralyl in red deer. Red deer were given an initial dose of either 1.5 mg/kg diphacinone or 8.25 mg/kg coumatetralyl, which equated to a similar quantity of commercially available bait for these anticoagulants. At these initial doses, the mean hepatic elimination half-life of diphacinone in red deer is estimated as 6.0 days whereas the mean estimated hepatic elimination half-life of coumatetralyl is estimated as 18.9 days. In pigs given an initial dose of 1.5 mg/kg, the mean hepatic elimination half-life is estimated as 12.4 days. Cattle were dosed with 1.5 mg/kg diphacinone in two similar trials. The results suggest that diphacinone is metabolised and distributed quite differently in cattle from the other species studied, including longer hepatic persistence. It would be valuable to investigate hepatic persistence of other anticoagulants in cattle to inform withholding periods for livestock in the case of accidental exposure. © 2013 Copyright The Royal Society of New Zealand