Abstract
Worldwide, both the incidence and death rates of pancreatic cancer (PC) are increasing. While the exact cause of PC is not known, certain risk factors are associated with the disease, including tobacco smoking, obesity and diabetes. The present author studied associations between radioactive cesium (137Cs) and increases in PC. There is a correlation between the geographical map of the incidence of and mortality from PC and the map of nuclear plants, related nuclear accidents and nuclear tests with consequent radioactive fallout, of which 137Cs, with its half-life of about 30 years, is one of the most relevant components. Published data in medical literature at World, European and Italian levels are reviewed and compared. In human and animal bodies, cesium ions behave like potassium ion (K+). Cs+ is absorbed from plants and fruit competitively with K+ and is localized mainly inside cells. 137Cs is present in the environment for at least 10-20 times its half-life, i.e. about 300-600 years. Autoradiographic studies in mice have shown that 137Cs is concentrated in significant quantities in the pancreas, in particular in exocrine cells, where most PCs featuring high malignancy originate. The pancreas and the salivary glands secrete cesium into the intestine thus eliminating about 14% of absorbed Cs with the feces, whereas the remaining 86% is eliminated by kidney with the urine. Some previous studies between radioactive Cs and tumors in general have been also reported.
Highlights
Worldwide, both the incidence and death rates of pancreatic cancer (PC) are increasing (Fig. 1).PC is the seventh leading cause of global cancer deaths in industrialized countries and the third most common cancer in the USA
Based on GLOBOCAN 2018 estimates, PC has been ranked as the 11th most common cancer in the world counting 458,918 new cases and causing 432,242 deaths (4.5% of all deaths caused by cancer) in 2018
General risk factors include the following (Fig. 2): Age, with nearly 90 percent found among people aged 55 and older; gender, the cancer being somewhat more common in men than women; obesity; types I and II diabetes mellitus; chronic pancreatitis; liver cirrhosis, Helicobacter pylori infection, and cigarettes smoking, the latter cause attributable to almost one-third of all PC
Summary
Both the incidence and death rates of pancreatic cancer (PC) are increasing. The present author studied associations between radioactive cesium (137Cs) and increases in PC. There is a correlation between the geographical map of the incidence of and mortality from PC and the map of nuclear plants, related nuclear accidents and nuclear tests with consequent radioactive fallout, of which 137Cs, with its half-life of about 30 years, is one of the most relevant components. Заболеваемость раком поджелудочной железы (РПЖ) и смертность от него растут по всему миру. Существует связь между географическим распределением заболеваемости РПЖ и смертности от него и расположением атомных электростанций, аварий с ними, проведенных ядерных испытаний и радиоактивными осадками, в составе которых 137Cs с его периодом полураспада около 30 лет является одним из самых заслуживающих внимания компонентов. Авторадиографические исследования на мышах показали, что 137Cs концентрируется в тканях поджелудочной железы, особенно в экзокринных клетках, от которых происходят наиболее злокачественные клетки РПЖ. Ключевые слова: радиоактивный цезий, рак поджелудочной железы, ядерные испытания, эпидемиология
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