Biomonitoring .a dialogue

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Biomonitoring .a dialogue

• EnviroCancer Connections-LDL
• February 14, 2005
• Discussion Leader Suzanne Snedeker - BCERF

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Biomonitoring Outline and discussion Qs

• What is biomonitoring?
• Why has there been an increase in interest in the
  scientific, public health, and advocacy
  communities?
• How does biomonitoring fit into emerging public
  health tracking-programs and research studies?
• What are strengths and limitations of
  biomonitoring in public health tracking?

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Biomonitoring Outline and discussion Qs

• What are your questions about these approaches?
• How will these approaches address questions you
  would like to see answered?
• What are ways the cancer survivor community can
  communicate its priorities at the state and
  federal level?

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Biomonitoring What is it?

• Center for Disease Controls definition
• Biomonitoring is the direct measurement of
  environmental chemicals or metabolites in human
  specimens (such as blood or urine)
• Measures internal dose rather than external
  sources of exposure
• Note Human specimens can include
• Blood (whole or serum), lymphocytes (white blood
  cells), urine, saliva, adipose tissue, breast
  milk, toe nails, hair, and exhaled breath

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Biomonitoring Why the rapid rise in interest?

• 1967-1990 National Human Monitoring Program
• Included monitoring organochlorine chemicals in
  human adipose tissue (National Human Adipose
  Tissue Survey)
• From 1990 on, limited biomonitoring by the CDC
• Exposures to Superfund chemicals
• Trends in blood lead, solvents, and pesticide
  exposure

• August 1995, Vol. 103, Suppl. 3
• Environmental Health Perspectives
• Special Issue on
• Human Tissue Monitoring Specimen Banking
• full.html

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Biomonitoring Why the rapid rise of interest?

• October 2004, Vol. 12, issue no. 14
• Environmental Health Perspectives
• Mini-monograph on
• Public Health Tracking
• National Environmental Public Health Tracking
  Program Bridging the Information Gap
• Identifying Priority Health Conditions,
  Environmental Data and Infrastructure Needs A
  Synopsis of the Pew Environmental Health Tracking
  Project (assessment conducted in 2001)
• (see biomonitoring handout for url for
  downloading these articles)

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Biomonitoring - CDC Environmental Public Health
Tracking Program

• CDC states
• m
• Environmental Public Health Tracking is the
  ongoing collection, integration, analysis,
  interpretation, and dissemination of data on
  environmental hazards, exposures to those
  hazards, and related health effects.
• The goal of tracking is to provide information
  that can be used to plan, apply, and evaluate
  actions to prevent and control environmentally
  related diseases.
• Biomonitoring is a powerful tool essential for
  closing the gaps in exposure data. In many cases,
  data are not available on what substances are
  getting into people and at what levels.

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Biomonitoring Issues

• Issues put forth in recent article in Science
• Pace of biomonitoring has eclipsed that of
  basic epidemiology and toxicology needed to
  reveal whether a chemical causes harm.
• Although testing for a chemical can take a few
  days, discernment of its impact on health takes
  years.
• High levels (of a chemical) are not necessarily
  dangerous, and typical levels are not necessarily
  safe.
• Ref Erik Stokstad, Pollution gets personal,
  News Focus article in Science, 3041892-93,
  2004.

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Biomonitoring the vision

• Dr. Bill Suk predicted human biomonitoring may
  lead to
• the identification of potentially hazardous
  exposures before the adverse health effects
  appear and to establish exposure limits
  minimizing likelihood of significant health
  risks.
• Ref Suk W., Human biomonitoring research
  goals and needs, Environ Health Perspect,
  104(Suppl 3)479-483, 1996.
• Vision of biomonitorings scope -
• 1) Biomonitoring for chemical exposure assessment
• 2) Biomarkers of susceptibility (DNA repair)
• 3) Development of early biomarkers of the disease

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Biomonitoring Research studies

• Sister Study
• Exploring Gene-environmental interactions in
  50,000 women whose sisters had breast cancer
  diagnosis
• Extensive banking of blood and toe nail samples
• Agricultural Health Study
• Prospective study of a cohort of over 55,000
  farmers and over 32,000 spouses
• Extensive environmental monitoring and
  biomonitoring on a small subset of the farmers to
  measure pesticide exposure will be use to
  develop models to predict exposures
• BCERC (4 centers)
• Biological basis of breast cancer
• Environmental basis of puberty some
  biomonitoring and gene-related biomarker
  development

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Biomonitoring Strength and limitations

• Brainstorm on
• Strengths
• Limitations

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Biomonitoring Outline and discussion Qs

• What are your questions about these approaches?
• How will these approaches address questions you
  would like to see answered?
• What are ways the cancer survivor community can
  communicate its priorities at the state and
  federal level?

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Biomonitoring closing remarks.

• We hope this dialogue was informative and
  stimulating!
• Thank you to all participants, and the NYSBCN for
  being such wonderful partners for this LDL event!
• A reminder Please turn in your evaluations to
  the facilitator at your site.
• Safe travels, and Happy Valentines Day from all
  of us in BCERF!