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Chromium in exhaled breath condensate and pulmonary tissue of non-small cell lung cancer patients

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Abstract

Objective

Chromium in exhaled breath condensate (EBC) has recently been proposed as a biomarker of pulmonary exposure. The aim of this study was to measure the Cr levels in the EBC and pulmonary tissue of patients with early, operable non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who had not been occupationally exposed to Cr before and after tumour resection and to correlate Cr in lung tissue with that in EBC.

Methods

Cr levels in the EBC and pulmonary tissue of 20 NSCLC patients were measured by means of electrothermal atomic absorption before and after tumour resection. Cr levels were also measured in the urine of 15 of these patients.

Results

The pre-surgery EBC Cr levels of the NSCLC patients were not different from those of the controls, but both EBC and urinary Cr levels increased after surgery. There was a significant correlation between Cr levels in EBC and pulmonary tissue (R = 0.55, P = 0.01), but not between these and urinary Cr levels.

Conclusion

Cr levels in EBC and urine of NSCLC patients were increased after surgical intervention. Measured Cr EBC levels were by one order of magnitude lower than those observed in moderately exposed workers. This fact, together with the correlation between Cr in EBC and in pulmonary tissue, confirms that EBC is a promising biological fluid to test pulmonary exposure to Cr, giving complementary information to that provided by urinary Cr, not correlated with EBC and tissue.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported in part by a grant (Ricerca Finalizzata 2003) from the Italian Ministry of Health and in part by a grant R01 HL72323 from the National Heart, Blood and Lung Institute (NHLBI; Bethesda, USA). Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the NHLBI or National Institutes of Health. All of the authors exclude any competing interest.

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Correspondence to Antonio Mutti.

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Goldoni, M., Caglieri, A., Corradi, M. et al. Chromium in exhaled breath condensate and pulmonary tissue of non-small cell lung cancer patients . Int Arch Occup Environ Health 81, 487–493 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00420-007-0242-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00420-007-0242-8

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