Environmental risk factors of cancer and their primary prevention

The evaluation of the influence of different environmental carcinogenic factors requires interdisciplinary cooperation. Related studies include epidemiological surveys and air, water and soil, chemical, toxicological, and microbiological analyses, supplemented by experimental verification of suspected ecological pathogens and cofactors. A balance of carcinogens and protective agents in the external environment and in the human body is recommended for an ecologically oriented prevention. Toxicological control of the food chain using modern technology (Proton-induced X-ray emission (PIXE), nuclear activation analysis, and induced coupled plasma) should be integrated with microanalyses at the cellular level (by X-ray scanning electron microscopy, nuclear magnetic response, PIXE, and spontaneous and delayed chemiluminescence for balance of free-radicals and their scavengers). A pilot cross-disciplinary study conducted in the area of a "cluster" of human neoplasms and cattle leukemia, in comparison with control villages in Poland, showed an excess in Pb, Hg, Ni, Rb, K, Mn, Cr, and Zn, accompanied by a nutritional deficiency in Mg, Ca, Fe, Co, and Se in the food chain of the "cluster." The living and breeding houses in this area were significantly more contaminated with the toxicogenic molds Aspergillus flavus and Penicillium meleagrinum and by nitrate and nitrite in the drinking water. Our experiments showed that selenium deficiency stimulated the growth of fungi and some bacteria and increased the immunosuppressive and teratogenic effects of aflatoxin B1. New methods of protection of the indoor environment against microbiological contamination and laser-related biotechnology for nutritional prevention of selenium deficiency and associated risk of neoplasms have been introduced. Primary prevention requires a large scale application of highly sensitive methods for early detection of risk factors in the environment, food, water, and at the personal level, as well as education of the society and an integrated common corrective action.