Alcohol drinking and mammary cancer: Pathogenesis and potential dietary preventive alternatives

Alcohol consumption is associated with an increased risk of breast cancer, increasing linearly even with a moderate consumption and irrespectively of the type of alcoholic beverage. It shows no dependency from other risk factors like menopausal status, oral contraceptives, hormone replacement therapy, or genetic history of breast cancer. The precise mechanism for the effect of drinking alcohol in mammary cancer promotion is still far from being established. Studies by our laboratory suggest that acetaldehyde produced in situ and accumulated in mammary tissue because of poor detoxicating mechanisms might play a role in mutational and promotional events. Additional studies indicated the production of reactive oxygen species accompanied of decreases in vitamin E and GSH contents and of glutathione transferase activity. The resulting oxidative stress might also play a relevant role in several stages of the carcinogenic process. There are reported in literature studies showing that plasmatic levels of estrogens significantly increased after alcohol drinking and that the breast cancer risk is higher in receptor ER-positive individuals. Estrogens are known that they may produce breast cancer by actions on ER and also as chemical carcinogens, as a consequence of their oxidation leading to reactive metabolites. In this review we introduce our working hypothesis integrating the acetaldehyde and the oxidative stress effects with those involving increased estrogen levels. We also analyze potential preventive actions that might be accessible. There remains the fact that alcohol drinking is just one of the avoidable causes of breast cancer and that, at present, the suggested acceptable dose for prevention of this risk is of one drink per day.Fil: Castro, Gerardo Daniel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. GP. CITEFA - Centro de Investigaciones Toxicológicas (I); Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Unidad de Investigación y Desarrollo Estratégico para la Defensa. Ministerio de Defensa. Unidad de Investigación y Desarrollo Estratégico para la Defensa; ArgentinaFil: Castro, Jose Alberto. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Unidad de Investigación y Desarrollo Estratégico para la Defensa. Ministerio de Defensa. Unidad de Investigación y Desarrollo Estratégico para la Defensa; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de San Martín. Instituto de Investigación e Ingeniería Ambiental; Argentin

Trade with China and India and Manufacturing Labour Demand in Argentina

For many in Latin America, the increasing participation of China and India in international markets is seen as a looming shadow of two ?mighty giants? on the region?s manufacturing sector. Are they really mighty giants when it comes to their impact on manufacturing employment? This paper attempts to answer this question by estimating the effects of trade with China and India on Argentina?s industrial employment. We use a dynamic econometric model and industry level data to estimate the effects of trade with China and India on the level of employment in Argentina?s manufacturing sector. Results suggest that trade with China and India only had a small negative effect on industrial employment, even during the swift trade liberalization of the 1990s.China, Latin America, trade, import competition, trade and labour market interactions, employment

Trade, Poverty and Employment: The Social Consequences of Integration with China

This paper estimates the potential effects of a free trade agreement (FTA) between China and Mercosur on poverty, income distribution, welfare and employment. The case of Argentina, in particular, is investigated. To this end, partial equilibrium techniques are combined with micro econometric methodologies employing data from household surveys to examine the likely effects of an FTA with China on poverty and income distribution. We find that the FTA would result in a small reduction in poverty as well as an improvement in the income distribution. Highly disaggregated data at the industry level is used for the first time to estimate labor demand-output and wage elasticities in order to estimate the effects of an agreement with China on sectoral and aggregate employment rates. According to this, trade with the PRC did not have a significant effect on industrial employment, even in a period of swift trade liberalization like the nineties.China, Import Competition, Trade and Labor Market Interactions, Employment, Income Distribution, Poverty