Blood Arsenic contamination causing Breast Cancer Risk in Exposed Population of Bihar

Groundwater arsenic poisoning in the recent times has posed serious health hazards to human beings. After the long-term exposure to arsenic, it has also caused disease of cancer in them. Breast cancer is the disease, which has become a fast-growing disease in the women in the present times. The exposed population is posed to hormonal imbalance due to arsenic poisoning which causes breast carcinogenesis.

In the present study, n=203 women subjects were voluntarily selected for breast cancer study and their blood samples were collected for arsenic estimation by Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer against the control female subjects n=100.

The study reveals that there is significant elevation in the blood arsenic concentration in the breast cancer patients. Out of n=203, female breast cancer patients, n=148 subject’s blood had significant blood arsenic concentration (72%), while n-55 subject’s blood arsenic concentration in normal levels (28%). The maximum arsenic concentration observed in the breast cancer patient was 1620μg/L, which is very significant. Moreover, the control female subjects didn’t have any significant blood arsenic concentration, as only n=03 subjects had very mild increased blood arsenic concentration.

In the state of Bihar, the exposed women population due to prolonged arsenic poisoning develop hormonal imbalance in their body. Due to elevated estrogen hormone, there is significant stress on the other regulated hormones such as prolactin. This elevated prolactin for long duration causes formation of lumps in the breast. The untreated breast lumps causes inflammation in the breast lobules, which in long duration time of 10-15 years gets converted into to malignant, which is the major cause of the breast carcinogenesis. Hence, the elevated arsenic levels are associated with the linkage between arsenic and breast cancer carcinogenesis.

Keywords

Breast Cancer; Blood Arsenic Contamination; Gangetic Plains; Hormonal Imbalance

Published Date: 2023-05-30; Received Date: 2023-05-02