Abstract
ObjectiveTo correlate the levels of bladder tumour antigen (BTA) with aflatoxin M1 (AFM) in a human population in Nigeria. Subjects and methodsA pilot, observational study was conducted with 22 human subjects randomly recruited from a Nigerian rural community. Serum and first morning urine of participants were analysed for human BTA and AFM1, respectively, using quantitative ELISA assays. ResultsAll the subjects were positive to AFM1 (mean=0.235±0.072ng/mL) while 19 were positive to BTA (mean=2.340±1.741ng/mL). A negative relationship occurred between human BTA and AFM level (r=−0.239; P=0.285). Human BTA (2.86±2.43ng/mL; P=0.306) and AFM1 (0.258±0.065ng/mL; P=0.643) were higher in subjects 1–20 years. The two biomarkers were not also associated with sexes of the participants (P>0.05), although they were higher in the female subjects. ConclusionThis study showed that there may not be a connection between aflatoxin exposure and human BTA which is one of the biomarkers of bladder cancer.
Highlights
Bladder cancer poses global threat especially in males with an estimated 260,000 new cases occurring each year compared with their female counterparts with estimate totaled 76,000 [1]
This study showed that there may not be a connection between aflatoxin exposure and human bladder tumor antigen (BTA) which is one of the biomarkers of bladder cancer
All the subjects tested positive to aflatoxin M1 (AFM) while 19 were positive to BTA
Summary
Bladder cancer poses global threat especially in males with an estimated 260,000 new cases occurring each year compared with their female counterparts with estimate totaled 76,000 [1]. Aflatoxins, toxic secondary metabolites produced by certain species of Aspergillus such as Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus parasiticus and Aspergillus nomius in agricultural commodities, have been implicated in liver cancer during chronic dietary exposures [5]. Aflatoxin exposure is best monitored using serum and/or urinary biomarkers which reflect chronic and short-term (within 48 h) exposure, respectively. Aflatoxin B1 (AFB), which is the most toxic aflatoxin type, becomes bio-transformed in the liver to AFM1, Q1, B2a, P1 and aflatoxicol [6] and AFM1 is frequently excreted in urine during metabolism. Aflatoxin exposure measured by the urinary AFM1 biomarker has been frequently reported in several countries in Africa including Nigeria [7,8] and had been shown to correlate with AFB1 in diets and serum [9]
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