Nriagu Lab - Trace Metals, Human Health and the Environment

Arsenic and Bladder Cancer Research in Southeastern Michigan

Principal Investigator

Jerome Nriagu

Additional Personnel

Zorimar Rivera

Funding Sources

National Cancer Institute (NCI)

Status

Current

Keywords

About this Project

The health risks associated with long-term exposure to arsenic in drinking are still not well understood. Our research deals with the effects of arseninc exposure at elevated (in MIchigan) and high (Nadia Province, West Bengal, India) levels. The primary goal of the Michigan is to assess the effects of exposure to elevated levels of arsenic in drinking water as a risk factor in the development of bladder cancer in the population of the 11 counties of the State. The study consists of four elements: (a) assessment of current and lifetime exposures to arsenic in drinking water using an intelligent space-time information system; (b) biomonitoring of arsenic intakes by analyzing toenail and urine samples, (c) modeling the relationships between arsenic exposure and bladder cancer in a cohort of 1400 cases and controls; and (d) assessment of arsenic metabolites in urine samples as biomarkers of exposure and susceptibility to disease. The project in West Bengal deals with the timing of arsenic exposure and latency effects in the development of skin lesions. The studies are being conducted by a team of experts in environmental health, epidemiology and geostatistics.

Arsenic and Bladder Cancer Research in Southeastern Michigan