EnviBrain · Characterization of Diffuse Glioma tumors’ chemical exposome and potential positive associations with environmental pollution through air particulate matter analysis and wastewater based epidemiology

Although chemicals enable a constant improvement of health, life quality and facilitate food production, industrial applications and advanced agricultural practices, their release into the environment may be followed by increased risks for human health. Humans (directly or indirectly) are exposed to a diverse mixture of chemicals through multiple pathways, which has been acknowledged to play an important role in common chronic diseases, including multiple types of cancer, but the specific exposure-disease associations have not been explored sufficiently in many cases. This is particularly relevant for brain tumors, whose causes are still unknown, and it is suspected that the environmental components may play an important role since less than 5% of patients have a family history. Diffuse gliomas are the most common primary malignant brain tumors in adults with poor prognosis and survival, therefore, identifying environmental contributions to diffuse gliomas development and investigating links with chemical exposures is crucial for improving prognosis and treatment options. The objectives of this fellowship are (i) to explore the chemical exposome (exogenous chemicals and associated metabolites) of brain tumor tissues by making use of a unique historical cohort of diffuse gliomas patients (Bellvitge Glioma Cohort; Hospital de Bellvitge; 2005-present) and (ii) assess the exposure of Barcelona citizens to a mixture of contaminants through the analysis of air particulate matter, wastewater and sewage sludge. State-of-the-art analytical chemistry techniques and data science methods will be integrated to identify potential toxic organic chemicals and their metabolites/transformation products in the environment, that may influence the development of diffuse glioma in Barcelona. The generated results can be used by competent authorities to establish more surgical measures to reduce the emission of very hazardous chemicals and improve both air quality and population health.