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Environmental geochemistry and cancer: a pertinent global health problem requiring interdisciplinary collaboration

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Abstract

Primary prevention is a key strategy to reducing the global burden of cancer, a disease responsible for ~ 9.6 million deaths per year and predicted to top 13 million by 2030. The role of environmental geochemistry in the aetiology of many cancers—as well as other non-communicable diseases—should not be understated, particularly in low- and middle-income countries where 70% of global cancer deaths occur and reliance on local geochemistry for drinking water and subsistence crops is still widespread. This article is an expansion of a series of presentations and discussions held at the 34th International Conference of the Society for Environmental Geochemistry and Health in Livingstone, Zambia, on the value of effective collaborations between environmental geochemists and cancer epidemiologists. Key technical aspects of each field are presented, in addition to a case study of the extraordinarily high incidence rates of oesophageal cancer in the East African Rift Valley, which may have a geochemical contribution. The potential merit of veterinary studies for investigating common geochemical risk factors between human and animal disease is also highlighted.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to the organisers and delegates of the 34th SEGH International Conference, where this article was conceived and to the Environment, Sustainability and Environment Division of the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC), which awarded funds to partially cover D. Middleton’s conference attendance. The work was undertaken during an IARC postdoctoral fellowship (D. Middleton) partially supported by the European Commission FP7 Marie Curie Actions —People—Co-funding of regional, national and international programs (COFUND).

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  1. Section of Environment and Radiation, International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), 150 Cours Albert Thomas, 69372, Lyon CEDEX 08, France

    Daniel R. S. Middleton, Valerie A. McCormack & Joachim Schüz

  2. Inorganic Geochemistry, Centre for Environmental Geochemistry, British Geological Survey, Keyworth, Nottingham, UK

    Michael J. Watts

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  1. Daniel R. S. Middleton
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Middleton, D.R.S., McCormack, V.A., Watts, M.J. et al. Environmental geochemistry and cancer: a pertinent global health problem requiring interdisciplinary collaboration. Environ Geochem Health 42, 1047–1056 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-019-00303-9

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