Bladder Lesions in Tannery Workers

Amal Saad and Safia Beshir

Environmental and Occupational Medicine Department – NRC – Egypt

Corresponding author: Dr. Amal Saad
    Ass. Professor of Environmental Health and Preventive Medicine
    Department of Environmental and Occupational Medicine National Research Centre
    El-Bohouth Street (Tahrir Street)
    Dokki, Cairo, Egypt
    Fax number: 00202-3370931
    E-mail: amel_h3@yahoo.com

CEJOEM 2007, Vol.13. No.1.: 43–53

Key words:
Urinary bladder lesions, tannery workers, nuclear matrix protein, cytopathological examination and DNA image analysis

Abstract:
Carcinoma of urinary bladder is the fifth commonest form of cancer all over the world. In Egypt, bladder carcinoma is the most common solid tumour in men. The aim of the present study was evaluation of the carcinogenic effect of tannic on the urinary bladder of tannery workers, and comparison of the diagnostic value of urinary cytology, nuclear matrix protein (NMP) and Kontron Image Analysis System for the detection of occult bladder cancer.
    Methodology: The study included 38 tannery workers and 40 unexposed subjects. Urine samples were tested for abnormal cells through cytopathological examination and DNA image a nalysis for any abnormality in the cell life cycle, in addition to NMP, a tumour marker specific for bladder cancer, to detect suspected bladder lesions.
    Results: Statistical analyses found that there were significant differences between the examined groups according to the cytopathological examination of the urine samples and DNA images. In smoking tannery workers, 4C and S phase were significantly higher and 2C was significantly lower compared to those not smoking. There was no significant difference between the two groups according to NMP. But, the percent of positive NMP in smoking workers was higher compared to non-smokers in both groups.
    Conclusion: Tannery workers were at high risk for bladder pre-cancerous lesions. Smoking increases this risk. Urinary cytology as well as NMP can provide useful excluding information, and can be used in screening for bladder cancer in the population at risk to exclude the presence of the condition, but not as a diagnostic methods.

Received: 27 February 2007
Accepted: 08 June 2007

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