title: The global burden of disease for skin, lung, and bladder cancer caused by arsenic in food.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Arsenic is a ubiquitous, naturally occurring metalloid that poses a significant human cancer risk. While water consumption provides the majority of human exposure, millions of individuals worldwide are significantly exposed to arsenic through naturally occurring levels of arsenic in grains, vegetables, meats and fish, as well as through food processed with water containing arsenic. Thus, we estimated the global burdens of disease for bladder, lung, and skin cancers attributable to inorganic arsenic in food.
  
  
  METHODS
  To determine foodborne inorganic arsenic exposures worldwide, we used World Health Organization estimates of food consumption in thirteen country clusters, in conjunction with reported measurements of total and inorganic arsenic in different foods. We estimated slope factors for arsenic-related bladder and lung cancers, and used the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency skin cancer slope factor, to calculate the annual risk of the cancer incidence in males and females within each country cluster.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We estimated that each year 9,129 to 119,176 additional cases of bladder cancer, 11,844 to 121,442 of lung cancer, and 10,729 to 110,015 of skin cancer worldwide are attributable to inorganic arsenic in food.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These estimates indicate that foodborne arsenic exposure causes a significant global burden of human disease.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Estimating the global cancer burden caused by arsenic exposure in food will support policies that reduce exposure to disease-promoting environmental hazards.
authors.affiliation: Authors' Affiliations: Departments of Environmental and Occupational Health and.
authors.forename: Shilpi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Oberoi
authors.affiliation: Authors' Affiliations: Departments of Environmental and Occupational Health and Pharmacology and Chemical Biology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and aab20@pitt.edu.
authors.forename: Aaron
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Barchowsky
authors.affiliation: Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan.
authors.forename: Felicia
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Wu
mesh_terms: D020261:Arsenic Poisoning / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology*; D017281:Cost of Illness; D005260:Female; D005502:Food; D005517:Foodborne Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D014943:Global Health; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000453:epidemiology*; D008297:Male; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000453:epidemiology*; D001749:Urinary Bladder Neoplasms / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000453:epidemiology*; D014944:World Health Organization