Exposure to the World Trade Center (WTC) is associated with increased DNA methylation, which may contribute to breast cancer, according to a study published in the June issue of The New York Times. Environmental epidemiology.

Stephanie Tuminello, Ph.D., MPH, of NYU Grossman School of Medicine in New York City, and colleagues examined the DNA methylation profiles of WTC-exposed community members who remained cancer-free, compared with those who developed breast cancer. The study included 64 WTC-exposed women (32 without cancer, 32 with breast cancer) and 32 non-WTC-exposed women from the NYU Women’s Health Study (16 without cancer, 16 with prediagnosis of breast cancer).

The researchers found that compared with unexposed participants, WTC-exposed women were more likely to have hypermethylated cytosine-phosphate-guanine probe sites (14.3 vs. 4.5 percent). In the WTC-exposed groups (breast cancer patients and non-cancer patients), cancer-related pathways were overrepresented. Forty-seven epigenetically dysregulated genes were identified among WTC-exposed breast cancer patients compared with unexposed breast cancer patients. A network was created from these genes, including the Wnt/β-catenin signaling genes. WNT4 AND TCF7L2; dysregulation of these genes contributed to evading the cancer immune response.

“WTC exposure is associated with global and site-specific changes in DNA methylation. This has been observed in cancer-free WTC survivors as well as in those with breast cancer,” the authors write. “Several cancer-related genes and pathways appear to be affected, and specifically, WTC exposure may impair the immune system’s ability to identify and eliminate tumor cells that contribute to cancer evasion.”

Copyright © 2024 HealthDay. All rights reserved.