The Risk of Cancer Correlated with Nitrosamine Exposure

Abstract

The nitrosamines are a class of carcinogenic compounds that have garnered significant attention due to their association with an increased risk of various cancer types. More than thirty nitrosamines are on California's Proposition 65's list of substances that can cause cancer. Commonly used medications for the treatment of heartburn, hypertension, and type 2 diabetes have recently been contaminated with nitrosamine, which has led to multiple recalls by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Among chemicals and within a particular species of laboratory animal, these nitrosamines share target tumor sites for their common genotoxic and tumorigenic properties. Sometimes the drug valsartan is used to estimate the additional cancer risks associated with NDMA (N-nitrosodimethylamine) and NDEA (N-nitrosodiethylamine) contamination. These estimates are based on nitrosamine levels reported by the US FDA, cancer potencies developed by California's Proposition 65 program and the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and specific exposure scenarios. These estimates indicate that long-term drug use may raise the risk of cancer due to nitrosamine contamination, which is a major public health concern. The purpose of this thorough analysis is to clarify the connection between nitrosamine exposure and the onset of cancer.