Cancer Risk Higher If Staying in Industrial Area

Cancer Risk Higher If Staying in Industrial Area

The phrase that one's health is also influenced by the neighborhood seems to be true . Especially for the people who live in industrial areas seems to be wary .

According to a new study , people who live near the location of the release of benzene , such as refineries or factories that release a lot of chemicals into the water or air , have a risk of contracting non-Hodgkin lymphoma or cancer of the lymph nodes is higher.

" In the more common cancers such as breast , lung , or gut , we have associates who are well known and can develop risk factors , " said study author Dr. Christopher Flowers , professor of hematology and medical oncology at Emory University School of Medicine .

However , according to Flowers , for lymphoma has been no clear risk factors but it is very important to identify the risk factors of age population . In a study in the journal Cancer , Flowers and colleagues collected data on benzene release sites in Georgia from the Environmental Protection Agency 's ( EPA ) Toxics Release Inventory and compare it with the lymphoma incidence data from the Georgia Comprehensive Cancer Registry .

This study is the first to analyze the impact of benzene on a population level , distance , and a group of patients with lymph node cancer that is in the vicinity of benzene exposure . After analyzing the data , researchers found that the incidence of lymph node cancer was more pronounced in people who are around exposure to benzene .

In addition , the population risk of contracting cancer of lymph nodes was up 0.31 per cent each of their locations increases the distance a mile .

" We can not say directly that benzene causes cancer , but the proximity of housing to the location that many describe benzene , a higher incidence of cancer , " explains

Further research is needed before the measures limiting public exposure to benzene conducted . According to Flowers , the EPA needs to keep track of the locations containing Benzene exposure in the United States .

" There are a number of locations benzene exposure and potentially a few plants . Released chemicals can seep through the basement and some channeled through the plants , " said Flowers , as reported by Fox News, Tuesday ( 30/07/2013 ) .

In the future , researchers hope to use their research to develop methods to reduce exposure to risk factors of lymphoma , such as benzene , in the wider population . He hopes to identify risk factors and approaches at the population level to reduce benzene exposure by limiting the location of his presentation .

" Perhaps another study will provide information to the public and the community to try and identify the location where it may increase the risk of disease , " said Flowers .

Flowers and his colleagues at the Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University is part of the International Lymphoma Epidemiology Consortium ( InterLymph ) , an organization that seeks to better understand the risk factors for different lymphoma subtypes .