Drinking water and liver cancer

Abstract

AIM: To study the relationship between the mutagenicity of drinking water and incidence of liver cancer in high liver cancer incidence areas in Guangxi. METHODS: A relationship between the mutagenicity of drinking water and incidence of liver cancer was studied in Fusui County, a high liver cancer incidence area in China. Thirty-two samples of different kinds of drinking water (13 samples of pond water, 3 samples of well water near the ponds, 5 samples of well water, 6 samples of river water and 5 samples of tap water) were tested with a micronuclear technique in the root tips of Vicia faba. RESULTS: Among the 32 samples of different kinds of drinking water, 12 samples of pond water and 2 samples of well water near the ponds induced micronucleus frequencies on the root tips of Vicia faba to increase (P < 0.01), with the average micronucleus rate being 15.8% and 11.7%, respectively, while there was no difference between the micronucleus frequencies on the root tips of Vicia faba induced by well water (4.3%), river water (3.9%) or tap water (4.2%) and that on the control group (P > 0.05). Micronuclear effects on the root tips of Vicia faba in different kinds of drinking water were positively related to the incidence of liver cancer (r = 0.86, P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: There were substances that caused chromosomal aberrations in the drinking pond water in high liver cancer incidence areas of Guangxi. Different kinds of drinking water were closely related to the incidence of liver cancer. Chemical mutagens in the water may be an important factor in the high incidence of human liver cancer.