摘要:The northeast Nile Delta region exhibits a high incidence of early-onset pancreatic cancer. It is well documented that this region has one of the highest levels of pollution in Egypt. Epidemiologic studies have suggested that cadmium, a prevalent pollutant in the northeast Nile Delta region, plays a role in the development of pancreatic cancer. O bjective : We aimed to assess serum cadmium levels as markers of exposure in pancreatic cancer patients and noncancer comparison subjects from the same region in Egypt. D esign and Participants : We assessed serum cadmium levels of 31 newly diagnosed pancreatic cancer patients and 52 hospital comparison subjects from Mansoura, Egypt. E valuation/Measurements : Serum cadmium levels were measured using a novel immunoassay procedure. R esults : We found a significant difference between the mean serum cadmium levels in patients versus comparison subjects (mean ± SD, 11.1 ± 7.7 ng/mL vs. 7.1 ± 5.0 ng/mL, respectively; p = 0.012) but not in age, sex, residence, occupation, or smoking status. The odds ratio (OR) for pancreatic cancer risk was significant for serum cadmium level [OR = 1.12; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.04–1.23; p = 0.0089] and farming (OR = 3.25; 95% CI, 1.03–11.64; p = 0.0475) but not for age, sex, residence, or smoking status. C onclusions : The results from this pilot study suggest that pancreatic cancer in the East Nile Delta region is significantly associated with high levels of serum cadmium and farming. R elevance to C linical P ractice /P ublic H ealth : Future studies should further investigate the etiologic relationship between cadmium exposure and pancreatic carcinogenesis in cadmium-exposed populations.
关键词:cadmium; East Nile Delta region; environmental exposure; immunoassays; occupational exposure; pancreatic cancer; pollution