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Prevalence of Prostate Cancer in High Boron-Exposed Population: A Community-Based Study

Biological Trace Element Research volume 144, pages 49–57 (2011)Cite this article

Abstract

We investigated the possible relationship between boron exposure and prostate cancer (PCa) for men living and being employed at boron mines in villages with rich boron minerals. Out of 456 men studied, 159 were from villages with rich boron sources and boron levels in drinking water of >1 mg L−1 and these men formed the study group, while 63 from villages with rich boron sources and boron levels in drinking water of <1 mg L−1 were enrolled into control group 1. A further 234 subjects from other villages with no boron mines were considered as control group 2. Prostate specific antigen (PSA) levels could be obtained from a total of 423 men. Urinary boron concentration as an indicator of boron exposure in 63 subjects, prostatic volumes by transrectal ultrasonography in 39 subjects, and prostatic biopsies in 36 subjects were obtained for study and control groups. The daily boron exposure was calculated according to urinary boron levels. Although there was no significant difference among the groups in terms of total PSA levels, the number of subjects with tPSA ≥2.5 and tPSA ≥10.0 ng dL−1 prostatic volumes in men whose prostates were biopsied (p < 0.012) was significantly lower in the study group as compared with those in the control group 2. These results suggested that high exposure to boron might have an implication within the prostatic cellular processes related to hyperplasia and carcinogenesis, even though we did not find a statistically significant association between PCa and boron exposure.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the National Boron Research Institute, grant no. AR-GE/6.

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Affiliations

  1. Urology Department, Celal Bayar University, Manisa, Turkey

    Talha Müezzinoğlu & Murat Lekili

  2. Medical Biology Department, Celal Bayar University, Manisa, Turkey

    Mehmet Korkmaz

  3. Pathology Department, Celal Bayar University, Manisa, Turkey

    Nalan Neşe

  4. Chemistry Department, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey

    Sezgin Bakırdere, Yasin Arslan & O. Yavuz Ataman

  5. Chemistry Department, Zonguldak Karaelmas University, Zonguldak, Turkey

    Sezgin Bakırdere

  6. Chemistry Department, Atatürk University, Erzurum, Turkey

    Yasin Arslan

Authors
  1. Talha Müezzinoğlu
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  2. Mehmet Korkmaz
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  3. Nalan Neşe
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  4. Sezgin Bakırdere
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  5. Yasin Arslan
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  6. O. Yavuz Ataman
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  7. Murat Lekili
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Correspondence to Mehmet Korkmaz.

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Müezzinoğlu, T., Korkmaz, M., Neşe, N. et al. Prevalence of Prostate Cancer in High Boron-Exposed Population: A Community-Based Study. Biol Trace Elem Res 144, 49–57 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-011-9023-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-011-9023-z

Keywords

  • Prostatic neoplasm
  • Epidemiology
  • Boron intake