The relative influence of diet and serum concentrations of organochlorine compounds on K-ras mutations in exocrine pancreatic cancer.

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

In exocrine pancreatic cancer (EPC) mechanistic relationships may exist among some organochlorine compounds (OCs) and mutations in the K-ras oncogene, as well as among the latter and dietary factors.

OBJECTIVE:

To analyze (1) the relationship between food intake and serum concentrations of OCs in EPC patients and (2) the relative influence of food and OCs on the frequency of K-ras mutations in EPC.

PATIENTS AND METHODS:

Incident cases of EPC were prospectively identified, and interviewed face-to-face during hospital admission (N=135 patients with data on OCs and diet, and N=97 with additional information on K-ras status). OCs were measured by high-resolution gas chromatography with electron-capture detection.

RESULTS:

Consumption of milk and other dairy products was positively associated with concentrations of p,p'-DDT, PCB 138 and PCB 153 (log-transformed betas=0.652, 0.588 and 0.317, respectively; all p<0.05). When adjusted by OCs, dairy products were no longer associated with K-ras. By contrast, after adjusting by consumption of dairy products, patients with the highest concentrations of p,p'-DDT and some PCBs remained more likely to have a K-ras-mutated EPC than patients with lower concentrations (OR for upper tertile of PCB 138=5.5, 95% CI: 1.3-23.4).

CONCLUSIONS:

Dairy products were a source of OCs. The association between dairy products and K-ras mutations was not independent of OCs. By contrast, the association between OCs and K-ras was not confounded by dairy products. OCs may be more likely to contribute to the occurrence of K-ras mutations than nutrients contained in dairy products.

• Authors: Magda Gasull, Miquel Porta, José Pumarega, Jesús Vioque, Magda Bosch de Basea, Elisa Puigdomènech, Eva Morales, Joan O Grimalt, Núria Malats
• Journal: Chemosphere (Chemosphere) Vol. 79 Issue 7 Pg. 686-97 (Apr 2010) ISSN: 1879-1298 [Electronic] England
• PMID: 20350743 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)
• Copyright: 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Chemical References

• Environmental Pollutants
• Hydrocarbons, Chlorinated
• ras Proteins

Topics

• Aged
• Animals
• Cattle
• Chromatography, Gas
• Diet
• Environmental Pollutants (blood, chemistry)
• Female
• Food Analysis
• Humans
• Hydrocarbons, Chlorinated (blood, chemistry)
• Interviews as Topic
• Male
• Middle Aged
• Milk (chemistry)
• Mutation
• Pancreatic Neoplasms (blood, epidemiology, genetics)
• ras Proteins (genetics)