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Arsenic and ultraviolet radiation exposure: melanoma in a New Mexico non-Hispanic white population

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Abstract

Cases of cutaneous melanoma and controls were enrolled in a New Mexico population-based study; subjects were administered questionnaires concerning ultraviolet (UV) and inorganic arsenic (iAs) exposure. Historical iAs exposure was estimated. UV exposure estimates were also derived using geospatial methods. Drinking water samples were collected for iAs analysis. Blood samples were collected for DNA repair (Comet) and DNA repair gene polymorphism assays. Arsenic concentrations were determined in urine and toenail samples. UV exposures during the previous 90 days did not vary significantly between cases and controls. Mean (±SD) current home iAs drinking water was not significantly different for cases and controls [3.98 μg/L (±3.67) vs. 3.47 μg/L (±2.40)]. iAs exposure showed no effect on DNA repair or association with melanoma. Results did not corroborate a previously reported association between toenail As and melanoma risk. Arsenic biomarkers in urine and toenail were highly significantly correlated with iAs in drinking water. A UV–DNA repair interaction for UV exposure over the previous 7–90 days was shown; cases had higher DNA damage than controls at low UV values. This novel finding suggests that melanoma cases may be more sensitive to low-level UV exposure than are controls. A UV–APEX1 interaction was shown. Subjects with the homozygous rare APEX1 DNA repair gene allele had a higher risk of early melanoma diagnosis at low UV exposure compared with those with the homozygous wild type or the heterozygote. Notably, a UV–arsenic interaction on inhibition of DNA repair was not observed at iAs drinking water concentrations below 10 ppb (μg/L).

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) Grant #1R21ES018705. The University of North Carolina National Obesity Research Center (NORC) laboratory under the direction of Dr. Miroslav Styblo is independently supported by NIH Grant #DK56350; NORC was reimbursed for performance of urinary arsenic speciation analyses for this study. The authors are especially indebted to Ms. Adriana Sanchez and Ms. Natalia Gurule for their impeccable performance of multiple complex tasks critical to the field portion of the study, to Dr. Karen Cooper, PhD, for skilled performance and analysis of the Comet assays, to Ms. Miranda Cajero for expertise in formatting study variables in REDCap, to Mrs. Elizabeth Harris for precise REDCap data entry, and to Laboratory Manager, Ms. Kirsten White and the dedicated staff and students of the Berwick Molecular Epidemiology Laboratory for excellent record and sample logistics organization and proficiency in carrying out genetic polymorphism assays.

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  1. Janice W. Yager

    Present address: ENVIRON International Corporation, 2200 Powell Street, Suite 700, Emeryville, CA, 94608, USA

  2. Esther Erdei

    Present address: Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Preventive Medicine, Health Sciences Center, Department of Internal Medicine, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA

    Janice W. Yager, Esther Erdei, Orrin Myers, Malcolm Siegel & Marianne Berwick

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Yager, J.W., Erdei, E., Myers, O. et al. Arsenic and ultraviolet radiation exposure: melanoma in a New Mexico non-Hispanic white population. Environ Geochem Health 38, 897–910 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-015-9770-4

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