Genetic mutations linked to toxin exposure found in firefighters’ brain tumors

“Identifying a mutation signature like this one is important because this can inform public health intervention strategies,” said senior author Elizabeth B. Claus, MD, PhD, of the Department of Neurosurgery at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a founding member of the Mass General Brigham healthcare system. Claus also holds an appointment at Yale School of Public Health. “Some occupational hazards may be avoidable and pinpointing them could help to prevent gliomas.”

Claus and colleagues compared genetic samples from tumors from 17 firefighters with tumors to 18 people who had never been firefighters. They found mutations tied to a known “mutational signature” — a unique pattern of genetic mutations — in many of the firefighter samples, especially in those who had spent more years firefighting. Among the non-firefighters, the highest signal of the signature was seen among people who had possibly been exposed to haloalkenes through other occupations, such as painting or being a mechanic.

“In this pilot study, we confirm our earlier findings of an association between exposure to haloalkanes and glioma risk-we hope to further examine this in larger samples that include both firefighters and other persons exposed to haloalkanes,” said Claus. “Our efforts to do so continues via development of our online glioma registry, an effort to study risks factors and treatments for persons with glioma.”

Disclosures: Elizabeth B. Claus reports advisory board fees from Servier Pharmaceuticals outside the submitted work. Additional author disclosures can be found in the paper.