ENVIRONMENTAL CARCINOGENESIS IN HARYANA, INDIA: A CRITICAL COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW OF CANCER SURVEILLANCE, MULTIEXPOSURE PATHWAYS, AND PREVENTION PRIORITIES
Jul 2026· International Journal of Engineering Applied Sciences and Technology· Vol 11, pp. 96-112· 0 citations
TL;DR
A transparent evidence hierarchy, an eco-oncology framework, districtcluster research priorities, and an implementation roadmap centred on sustained population-based cancer registration, historical exposure reconstruction, safe water, clean air, pesticide stewardship, and worker protection are proposed.
Abstract
Haryana combines rapid industrialisation,
intensive agriculture, severe air pollution, groundwater
stress, and uneven occupational and environmental
regulation, creating a plausible setting for cumulative
carcinogenic exposure. This critical comprehensive review
integrates cancer surveillance, Haryana-specific
environmental studies, institutional monitoring,
mechanistic evidence, and international epidemiology while
distinguishing hazard detection from demonstrated local
causation. ICMR-NCRP estimates indicate that annual
incident cancer cases increased from 29,219 in 2020 to
32,513 in 2024. The peer-reviewed Haryana Cancer Atlas
analysis included 36,736 confirmed cancers diagnosed in
2016-2017 from 126 participating centres, supplemented by
eligible records from 28 hospital-based cancer registries,
and identified substantial district and site-specific
variation. The broader administrative atlas reported
42,699 records from 149 sources, illustrating why analytic
and administrative totals should not be conflated. Rohtak
had the highest male all-site age-adjusted incidence rate
(143.9 per 100,000), whereas Gurugram had the highest
female rate (108.2); high head-and-neck cancer rates
among men and district variation in breast, lung, prostate,
and cervical cancer require targeted surveillance but do
not establish environmental causation. Groundwater
monitoring identified nitrate, fluoride, arsenic, and
uranium exceedances, while pesticide residues, industrial
mixtures, ambient particulate matter, combustion
emissions, and workplace exposures create additional
prevention priorities. The strongest causal evidence
relevant to Haryana concerns outdoor air pollution,
benzene, inorganic arsenic, hexavalent chromium,
cadmium, and selected occupational exposures; pesticide
evidence remains compound- and outcome-specific, and
uranium requires cautious interpretation because its
drinking-water guideline primarily reflects chemical
nephrotoxicity. The review proposes a transparent
evidence hierarchy, an eco-oncology framework, districtcluster research priorities, and an implementation
roadmap centred on sustained population-based cancer
registration, historical exposure reconstruction, safe water,
clean air, pesticide stewardship, and worker protection.
Haryana offers a transferable model for environmentalcancer surveillance in rapidly industrialising,
agriculturally intensive, data-constrained regions.
The role of occupational medicine in identifying, managing, and preventing cancers linked to workplace exposures, while addressing diagnostic advances, regulatory frameworks, and preventive strategies is examined.
Dhanya Boopathe, Kamalesh V· Adolescência e Saúde· 0 citations
An increase in formaldehyde concentration in the air is associated with a gain in breast cancer incidence, especially at the early stages, and it is advisable to strengthen formaldehyde monitoring, implement molecular epidemiological screening of these polymorphisms and active detection of breast cancer in genetically determined risk groups.
O. N. Gulyaeva, Ivan E. Tereshkin, V. Kislitsyna et al.· Hygiene and Sanitation· 0 citations
High-molecular-weight carcinogens significantly accumulate in human lungs in Northern Thailand, reflecting substantial environmental exposure, while tissue lipid content modulates toxin bioaccumulation, underscores an urgent need for targeted public health strategies addressing both environmental pollution and tobacco use.
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The strongest current inference is that arsenic can damage male reproductive biology and may contribute to impaired semen quality in susceptible or highly exposed populations; the magnitude of risk at common low-level exposure is uncertain.
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BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE
Formaldehyde (FA), classified as a Group 1 human carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), constitutes a significant occupational hazard within hospital pathology service, where it remains the "gold standard" fixative for tissue preservation. Despite widespread recognition of its toxicological properties, the specific carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic health risks confronting pathology personnel subjected to chronic, low-level, and intermittent exposures remain incompletely characterized. This review synthesizes the current body of evidence regarding the cellular and molecular mechanisms of FA toxicity, histopathological (HP) alterations in target tissues, and associated occupational health risks among pathology staff. Study selection for review: A comprehensive literature search was conducted across PubMed∕MEDLINE, Web of Science, and Scopus databases, encompassing publications through December 2025. Studies were selected based on relevance to FA toxicity mechanisms, HP effects, and occupational exposure in pathology settings. Given the heterogeneity of study designs and outcomes, a narrative synthesis approach was adopted.
EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS
The synthesized evidence demonstrates that pathology personnel are routinely exposed to FA concentrations exceeding recommended occupational exposure limits (OELs). At the cellular level, FA exerts toxicity through deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)-protein crosslink formation, oxidative stress induction, and inflammatory pathway activation. HP examination of exposed individuals reveals a characteristic progression from ciliary loss and goblet cell hyperplasia through squamous metaplasia to epithelial dysplasia in the nasal mucosa. Non-carcinogenic health effects, including respiratory symptoms and genotoxicity biomarker elevation, are highly prevalent. However, direct epidemiological evidence substantiating elevated cancer risk within this specific occupational cohort remains limited, mainly due to improper (occupational medicine) reporting.
CONCLUSIONS
This review confirms substantial non-carcinogenic health effects among pathology personnel, with documented HP alterations representing preneoplastic changes at the portal of entry. The mechanistic evidence supports biological plausibility for carcinogenic risk, though epidemiological confirmation specific to this workforce remains lacking, highlighting a critical research gap.
M. Șerbănescu, A. Rotaru-Zăvăleanu, Lucrețiu Radu· Romanian journal of morpholo...· 0 citations