title: Association of soil arsenic and nickel exposure with cancer mortality rates, a town-scale ecological study in Suzhou, China.
abstract: Heavy metals and arsenic are well-known carcinogens. However, few studies have examined whether soil heavy metals and arsenic concentrations associate with cancer in the general population. In this ecological study, we aimed to evaluate the association of heavy metals and arsenic in soil with cancer mortality rates during 2005-2010 in Suzhou, China, after controlling for education and smoking prevalence. In 2005, a total of 1683 soil samples with a sampling density of one sample every 4 km(2) were analyzed. Generalized linear model with a quasi-Poisson regression was applied to evaluate the association between town-scale cancer mortality rates and soil heavy metal concentrations. Results showed that soil arsenic exposure had a significant relationship with colon, gastric, kidney, lung, and nasopharyngeal cancer mortality rates and soil nickel exposure was significantly associated with liver and lung cancer. The associations of soil arsenic and nickel exposure with colon, gastric, kidney, and liver cancer in male were higher than those in female. The observed associations of soil arsenic and nickel with cancer mortality rates were less sensitive to alternative exposure metrics. Our findings would contribute to the understanding of the carcinogenic effect of soil arsenic and nickel exposure in general population.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of the Environment, Nanjing University, 163 Xianlin Avenue, Nanjing, 210023, China.
authors.forename: Kai
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Qi Lin
authors.initials: QL
authors.lastname: Liao
authors.forename: Zong Wei
authors.initials: ZW
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.forename: Ming
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hua
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bi
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Huang
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001151:Arsenic / Q000032:analysis*; D020261:Arsenic Poisoning / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000032:analysis* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality*; D009532:Nickel / Q000032:analysis* / Q000506:poisoning; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000032:analysis* / Q000506:poisoning
chemical_list: D012989:Soil Pollutants; D009532:Nickel; D001151:Arsenic