Absence of t(14;18) chromosome translocation in agricultural workers after short-term exposure to pesticides

• Published in: Molecular medicine reports Vol. 15; no. 5; pp. 3379 - 3382
• Main Authors: Rapisarda, Venerando, Ledda, Caterina, Matera, Serena, Fago, Lucrezia, Arrabito, Giorgio, Falzone, Luca, Marconi, Andrea, Libra, Massimo, Loreto, Carla
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Greece D.A. Spandidos 01.05.2017; Spandidos Publications; Spandidos Publications UK Ltd
• Subjects: Adult; Age; Agricultural production; Agriculture; Alcohol; B-cell; BCL2; Cancer; carcinogenicity; Care and treatment; Chromosomes; Chromosomes, Human, Pair 14; Chromosomes, Human, Pair 18; Consumption; Family medical history; Farmers; Farms; Farmworkers; Female; Fungicides; greenhouse; Greenhouses; Heavy chains; Humans; Immunoglobulins; Insecticides; Logistic Models; Lymphoma; Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin - etiology; Male; Non-Hodgkin's lymphomas; non-Hodgkins lymphoma; Occupational exposure; Oncogene Proteins, Fusion - genetics; Pesticides; Pesticides - toxicity; Population; Studies; Translocation, Genetic - drug effects; Italy
• ISSN: 1791-2997; 1791-3004; 1791-3004
• DOI: 10.3892/mmr.2017.6385

Exposure to pesticides represents a potential health risk for the general population and for agricultural workers in particular. Some researchers observed that occupational exposure to pesticides is associated with risk of non-Hodgkins lymphoma (NHL). The chromosomal translocation t(14;18)(q32;q21) is one of the most common chromosomal abnormalities in NHL. The aim of this study was to detect the effects of pesticides on t(14;18) chromosome translocation in agricultural workers after short-term exposure. Fifty-two workers occupationally exposed to pesticides (fungicides and insecticides) and 52 non-exposed were recruited. The farm workers were on average exposed to pesticides for ~3.7 h a day for 5 years. The frequency of BCL2-IGH t(14;18) translocation in workers occupationally exposed to pesticides was 10% (5 of 52) vs. 8% (4 of 52) in the control group. Overall, these data suggest that no significant association between occupational exposure to pesticides and an increased frequency of the chromosomal translocation BCL2-IGH t(14;18) in farmers was observed. However, further studies with a higher number of subjects exposed to pesticides are necessary to confirm this observation.