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Exposure to 2,4-dichlorophenol, 2,4,6-trichlorophenol, pentachlorophenol and risk of thyroid cancer: a case-control study in China

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Abstract

Thyroid cancer (TC) has inflicted huge threats to the health of mankind. Chlorophenols (CPs) were persistent organic pollutant and can lead to adverse effects in human health, especially in thyroid. However, epidemiological studies have revealed a rare and inconsistent relationship between internal exposure to CPs and TC risk. The purpose of this study was to investigate the correlation between urinary CPs and TC risk in Chinese population. From June 2017 to September 2019, a total of 297 histologically confirmed TC cases were recruited. Age- and gender-matched controls were enrolled at the same time. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was used to determine the levels of three CPs in urine. Conditional logistic regression models were adopted to assess the potential association. Restricted cubic spline function was used to explore the non-liner association. After adjusting for confounding factors, multivariate analysis showed that, compared with the first quartile, the fourth quartile concentrations of 2,4-dichlorophenol (2,4-DCP), 2,4,6-trichlorophenol (2,4,6-TCP), and pentachlorophenol (PCP) were associated with TC risk (odds ratio (OR)2,4-DCP =2.28, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.24–4.18; OR2,4,6-TCP =3.09, 95% CI: 1.66–5.77; ORPCP =3.30, 95% CI: 1.71–6.36, respectively), when CPs were included in the multivariate model and restricted cubic spline function as continuous variables, presenting significant dose-response relationships. Meanwhile, whether in the TC group with tumor diameter > 1 cm or metastatic TC, the changes of 2,4,6 TCP and PCP concentrations were positively correlated with the risk of TC. Our study suggests that higher concentrations of urinary CPs are associated with increased TC risks. Moreover, 2,4,6-TCP and PCP have certain effects on the invasiveness of thyroid cancer. Targeted public health policies should be formulated to reduce the CP pollution. These findings need further in-depth studies to confirm and relevant mechanism also needed to be clarified.

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Availability of data and materials

The datasets analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank all the subjects who participated in this research. This work was supported by Academic Aid Project for Top Talents (Professionals) in Colleges and Universities of Anhui Province (gxbjZD09), the Project for Anhui Province Academic Technology Leader Reserve Candidates’ Academic Research Activities (2017H108), and the National Key Research and Development Program (NO. 2016YFC1302605). All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Funding

This work was supported by the Academic Aid Project for Top Talents (Professionals) in Colleges and Universities of Anhui Province (gxbjZD09), the Project for Anhui Province Academic Technology Leader Reserve Candidates’ Academic Research Activities (2017H108), and the National Key Research and Development Program (NO. 2016YFC1302605).

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Contributions

W. J. Y. and F. H. collaboratively designed the study, both making substantial intellectual contributions. W. J. Y. analyzed the data and drafted the manuscript together with H. B. W., and C. Z., Q. Z., and F. H. revised the manuscript. M. J. H., G. A. L., and Z. Y. Z. all contributed in interpreting the data. J. L. Z., H. H. Z., H. S. Z., and W. J. Y. all contributed in collecting the data. W. J. Y. and H. B. W. contributed equally. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Fen Huang.

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This study was approved by the Ethical Committee of Anhui Medical University, China. All participants signed a written informed consent form prior to participating.

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Not applicable.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Responsible Editor: Lotfi Aleya

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Wan-Jun Yang and Hua-Bing Wu should be considered co-first authors.

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Yang, WJ., Wu, HB., Zhang, C. et al. Exposure to 2,4-dichlorophenol, 2,4,6-trichlorophenol, pentachlorophenol and risk of thyroid cancer: a case-control study in China. Environ Sci Pollut Res 28, 61329–61343 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-14898-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-14898-z

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