Air-freshening chemicals & cancer

May 17, 2006

Briefs, 5/15

DenverPost.com

Air-freshening chemicals may lead to cancerous cells

Common household chemicals such as those used for moth repellents and

air fresheners may be harmful because they can change normal cells

into ones that could become cancerous, a study has found.

The chemicals, naphthalene and para-dichlorobenzene, are used in

mothballs and air fresheners such as those found in urinals. More

than 1 million pounds of the chemicals are used annually, said the

study in Nature Chemical Biology posted online today.

After treating microscopic worms with the chemicals, scientists at

the University of Colorado and Baylor College of Medicine in Houston

discovered that enzymes necessary for the cycle of cellular life and

death had been blocked, the study said.

The suppression of the enzymes that are essential for regulating

normal cell death may be a way these chemicals help spur cancer

growth by preventing that normal process, which can also act as a

check on tumor cells, the study said.

" Understanding the mechanisms by which chemicals may help trigger

tumor growth is very important for adopting the appropriate

regulations to limit human exposure to hazardous chemicals, " wrote

Ding Xue, an associate professor in the molecular, cellular and

developmental biology department at CU, in an e-mail Thursday.

The chemicals have long been thought of as carcinogens, or cancer-

causing agents, though no apparent genetic damage was found in

previous tests.

An outgrowth of the study was that researchers devised a way to

potentially use the microscopic worm to screen drugs or cancer-

causing agents, a much cheaper method than using rats, Xue wrote.

---

Carl Grimes

Healthy Habitats LLC

Recommended Posts