A new study by Yale School of Public Health reveals a strong link between firefighting chemicals and aggressive brain tumors known as gliomas. Researchers analyzed 35 cases, including 17 male firefighters and 18 other workers, all based in the United States. The study critically focuses on occupational exposure to haloalkanes.
Firefighters show clear haloalkane DNA mutational signatures indicating increased risk.
The investigated cases were collected from 1991 to 2013. Firefighters had an average service duration of 22 years, with glioma diagnoses appearing about seven years after exposure. Researchers performed genetic analyses using blood and tumor samples to detect mutational signatures.
Researchers aimed to uncover environmental risk factors for glioma. Haloalkanes, suspected of damaging DNA and triggering mutational patterns, may explain cancer development where age and genetics fall short as causes.
These groundbreaking findings strongly underline the urgent need for enhanced occupational safety measures and ongoing research to safeguard high-risk workers.
