Hypoxia in Lung Cancer Management: A Translational Approach

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Hypoxia is a common feature of lung cancers. Nonetheless, no guidelines have been established to integrate hypoxia-associated biomarkers in patient management. Here, we discuss the current knowledge and provide translational novel considerations regarding its clinical detection and targeting to improve the outcome of patients with non-small-cell lung carcinoma of all stages. ABSTRACT: Lung cancer represents the first cause of death by cancer worldwide and remains a challenging public health issue. Hypoxia, as a relevant biomarker, has raised high expectations for clinical practice. Here, we review clinical and pathological features related to hypoxic lung tumours. Secondly, we expound on the main current techniques to evaluate hypoxic status in NSCLC focusing on positive emission tomography. We present existing alternative experimental approaches such as the examination of circulating markers and highlight the interest in non-invasive markers. Finally, we evaluate the relevance of investigating hypoxia in lung cancer management as a companion biomarker at various lung cancer stages. Hypoxia could support the identification of patients with higher risks of NSCLC. Moreover, the presence of hypoxia in treated tumours could help clinicians predict a worse prognosis for patients with resected NSCLC and may help identify patients who would benefit potentially from adjuvant therapies. Globally, the large quantity of translational data incites experimental and clinical studies to implement the characterisation of hypoxia in clinical NSCLC management

Projet Européen SINPHONIE (Schools Indoor Pollution and Health: Observatory Network in Europe) Projet sur la mesure de la qualité de l'air intérieur dans les écoles et de son impact sur la santé des enfants. Volet belge francophone. Rapport d'évaluation des objectifs de l'art.2 de l'arrêté ministériel

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Projet Européen SINPHONIE (Schools Indoor Pollution and Health: Observatory Network in Europe) Projet sur la mesure de la qualité de l'air intérieur dans les écoles et de son impact sur la santé des enfants. Volet belge francophone. Rapport final (rapport technique confidentiel)

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Projet Européen SINPHONIE (Schools Indoor Pollution and Health: Observatory Network in Europe) Projet sur la mesure de la qualité de l'air intérieur dans les écoles et de son impact sur la santé des enfants. Volet belge francophone. Rapport environnemental Ecole 3

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Projet Européen SINPHONIE (Schools Indoor Pollution and Health: Observatory Network in Europe) Projet sur la mesure de la qualité de l'air intérieur dans les écoles et de son impact sur la santé des enfants. Volet belge francophone. Rapport technique final

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Lead levels in umbilical cord blood in Belgium: a cross-sectional study in five maternity units.

The average blood lead concentration has significantly decreased over the last two decades among the general population. However, in Belgium, there are still high-risk populations such as groups of pregnant women who have shown elevated lead levels. The objective of this study was to evaluate the current situation of lead cord blood levels and identify sources of lead exposure by a questionnaire survey. The study was conducted in 5 maternity units in Belgium; for each, umbilical cord blood samples were collected from 50 consecutive births. At the same time a questionnaire on possible sources of lead exposure was administered to the mother. The dependent variable was a dichotomous lead level variable (<20 μg/L vs. ≥ 20 μg/L). The factors associated with elevated lead levels (≥ 20 μg/L) were mother's country of origin from south Mediterranean and from Sub-Saharan Africa, mother's educational level, using 'tagine' plates for cooking and using khol for make-up, but, after adjusting for potential confounding factors, only the mother's country origin from south Mediterranean (adjusted odds ratio, 5.51; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.68-18.08; p=0.005) and from Sub-Saharan Africa (adjusted odds ratio, 8.14; 95% CI, 2.26-29.40; p=0.001) were significantly associated with elevated cord blood lead concentrations (≥ 20 μg/L). The results of this study are similar to those found by a previous study in Belgium in 2004. Sources of exposure are difficult to distinguish with this questionnaire, which might be due to other important sources of exposure that were not included in the questionnaire. Confirmation of these risk factors in future studies could lead to new prevention strategies for populations who are at risk for subsequent lead exposure.Journal ArticleResearch Support, Non-U.S. Gov'tSCOPUS: ar.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Fourth WHO-coordinated survey of human milk for persistent organic pollutants (POPs): Belgian results

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are chemicals that accumulate in the food chain and are toxic to humans and wildlife. The fourth World Health Organization (WHO) survey on POP levels in human milk (2006-2009) aims to provide baseline and trend information on human exposure to POPs. So far Belgium participated in all three previous rounds (1988, 1992, 2001). Whereas the first three rounds focused on determination of dioxins and PCBs in pooled (mixed) samples, the fourth survey comprised the analyses of individual milk samples for nine &quot;basic POPs&quot; (chlorinated pesticides and indicator PCBs) and of pooled milk samples for &quot;basic POPs&quot;, &quot;advanced POPs&quot; (dioxins and dioxin-like PCBs) and &quot;optional POPs&quot; (polybrominated diphenylethers [PBDEs], polybrominated dioxins and dibenzofurans [PBrDD/F], mixed halogenated dioxins and dibenzofurans [PXDD/F] and hexabromocyclododecane [HBCD]). For the Belgian participation human milk samples were collected during the summer of 2006 from 197 women between 18 and 30 years old distributed over all Belgian provinces. The individual samples were analyzed in a Belgian Laboratory for &quot;basic&quot; POPs. A pooled sample was made from 178 individual samples and analyzed by the WHO Reference Laboratory for the &quot;basic, advanced and optional&quot; POPs. The results indicate that most organochlorinated pesticides banned 25-30 years ago were below or around detection limits in Belgian human milk samples although DDE was still found at low levels in all samples. Over the last five years the levels of marker PCBs and PCDD/Fs in Belgian human milk decreased, respectively, by 58% and 39%. For some of the other emerging or older compounds recent international data are needed to allow comparison. This shows the importance of international studies as run by WHO. -® 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved</p

Indoor air quality in belgium: CSS n°8794

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