Transcriptome Analysis in Peripheral Blood of Humans Exposed to Environmental Carcinogens: A Promising New Biomarker in Environmental Health Studies

BackgroundHuman carcinogenesis is known to be initiated and/or promoted by exposure to chemicals that occur in the environment. Molecular cancer epidemiology is used to identify human environmental cancer risks by applying a range of effect biomarkers, which tend to be nonspecific and do not generate insights into underlying modes of action. Toxicogenomic technologies may improve on this by providing the opportunity to identify molecular biomarkers consisting of altered gene expression profiles.ObjectivesThe aim of the present study was to monitor the expression of selected genes in a random sample of adults in Flanders selected from specific regions with (presumably) different environmental burdens. Furthermore, associations of gene expression with blood and urinary measures of biomarkers of exposure, early phenotypic effects, and tumor markers were investigated.ResultsIndividual gene expression of cytochrome p450 1B1, activating transcription factor 4, mitogen-activated protein kinase 14, superoxide dis...