Biomarkers of susceptibility to chemical carcinogens: the example of non-Hodgkin lymphomas

BACKGROUND: Genetic susceptibly to suspected chemical and environmental carcinogens may modify the response to exposure. The aim of this review was to explore the issues involved in the study of gene-environment interactions, and to consider the use of susceptibility biomarkers in cancer epidemiology, using non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) as an example. SOURCES OF DATA: PubMed, EMBASE and Web of Science were searched for peer-reviewed articles considering biomarkers of susceptibility to chemical, agricultural and industrial carcinogens in the aetiology of NHL. AREAS OF AGREEMENT: The results suggest a modifying role for genetic susceptibility to a number of occupational and environmental exposures including organochlorines, chlorinated solvents, chlordanes and benzene in the aetiology of NHL. The potential importance of these gene-environment interactions in NHL may help to explain the lack of definitive carcinogens identified to date for this malignancy. AREAS OF CONTROVERSY: Although a large number of genetic variants and gene-environment interactions have been explored for NHL, to date replication is lacking and therefore the findings remain to be validated. GROWING POINTS AND AREAS TIMELY FOR DEVELOPING RESEARCH: These findings highlight the need for novel standardized methodologies in the study of genetic susceptibility to chemical carcinogens.