Firefighters may face a heightened risk of developing brain cancer due to their persistent exposure to certain chemicals, a new study has found.
In a set of patients who had gliomas — the most common type of malignant brain tumor — cancer-causing gene mutations linked to toxic exposures were more prevalent in firefighters than in individuals from other professions, according to the study, published on Monday in Cancer.
The compounds in question, called haloalkanes, are found in flame retardants, fire extinguishers, refrigerants and pesticides and have previously been associated with a specific gene mutation that causes gliomas, the researchers noted.
“Glioma is the most common malignant primary brain tumor and is associated with significant morbidity and mortality,” the authors warned.
Examining the histories of 35 participants in the University of California Adult Glioma Study, the scientists — from multiple researcher institutes across the country — determined that 17 individuals had an occupational history of firefighting.
These participants worked as firefighters for an average of 22 years and received their diagnoses about seven years after their least reported occupational exposure, per the study.
Looking for the presence of a specific mutational “signature,” or pattern, linked to haloalkanes exposure, the researchers found that the firefighters were much more likely to have the signature than the other 18 participants.
Within the non-firefighter contingent, the mutational signatures appeared more in individuals whose careers also possibly exposed them to haloalkanes, including painters and auto-mechanics.
Senior author Elizabeth Claus, a professor at Yale University School of Public Health, acknowledged in a statement that the study’s results were only preliminary and that a much larger data set across a broader range of professions is needed to confirm the findings.
But she and her colleagues also stressed that pinpointing potential links to exposure-related mutations in cancers “is extremely important because they may inform public health intervention.”
Such knowledge, they explained, could help researchers develop strategies to prevent the gene mutations that cause cancer formation. And in the haloalkane scenario, awareness about the possible connection could also help firefighters to prevent certain exposures, the scientists added.
“Identifying exposure to such mutational agents is important to inform public health intervention strategies and pinpoint occupational hazards that may be avoidable,” Claus said.
