Cancer in wildlife, a case study: beluga from the St. Lawrence estuary, Québec, Canada.

Abstract

A population of approximately 650 beluga (Delphinapterus leucas) inhabits a short segment of the St. Lawrence estuary (SLE). Over 17 years (1983-1999), we have examined 129 (or 49%) of 263 SLE beluga carcasses reported stranded. The major primary causes of death were respiratory and gastrointestinal infections with metazoan parasites (22%), cancer (18%), and bacterial, viral, and protozoan infections (17%). We observed cancer in 27% of examined adult animals found dead, a percentage similar to that found in humans. The estimated annual rate (AR) of all cancer types (163/100,000 animals) is much higher than that reported for any other population of cetacean and is similar to that of humans and to that of hospitalized cats and cattle. The AR of cancer of the proximal intestine, a minimum figure of 63 per 100,000 animals, is much higher than that observed in domestic animals and humans, except in sheep in certain parts of the world, where environmental contaminants are believed to be involved in the etiology of this condition. SLE beluga and their environment are contaminated by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) produced by the local aluminum smelters. The human population living in proximity of the SLE beluga habitat is affected by rates of cancer higher than those found in people in the rest of Québec and Canada, and some of these cancers have been epidemiologically related to PAHs. Considered with the above observations, the exposure of SLE beluga to PAHs and their contamination by these compounds are consistent with the hypothesis that PAHs are involved in the etiology of cancer in these animals.

References 72

1. 1.

   This reference’s wording can’t be shown under the paper’s licence.

   Not in our library

2. 2.

   This reference’s wording can’t be shown under the paper’s licence.

   Not in our library

3. 3.

   This reference’s wording can’t be shown under the paper’s licence.

   Not in our library

4. 4.

   This reference’s wording can’t be shown under the paper’s licence.

   Not in our library

5. 5.

   This reference’s wording can’t be shown under the paper’s licence.

   Not in our library

6. 6.

   This reference’s wording can’t be shown under the paper’s licence.

   Not in our library

7. 7.

   This reference’s wording can’t be shown under the paper’s licence.

   Not in our library

8. 8.

   This reference’s wording can’t be shown under the paper’s licence.

   Not in our library

9. 9.

   This reference’s wording can’t be shown under the paper’s licence.

   Not in our library

10. 10.

    This reference’s wording can’t be shown under the paper’s licence.

    Not in our library

11. 11.

    This reference’s wording can’t be shown under the paper’s licence.

    Not in our library

12. 12.

    This reference’s wording can’t be shown under the paper’s licence.

    Not in our library

13. 13.

    This reference’s wording can’t be shown under the paper’s licence.

    Not in our library

14. 14.

    This reference’s wording can’t be shown under the paper’s licence.

    Not in our library

15. 15.

    This reference’s wording can’t be shown under the paper’s licence.

    Not in our library

16. 16.

    This reference’s wording can’t be shown under the paper’s licence.

    Not in our library

17. 17.

    This reference’s wording can’t be shown under the paper’s licence.

    Not in our library

18. 18.

    This reference’s wording can’t be shown under the paper’s licence.

    Not in our library

19. 19.

    This reference’s wording can’t be shown under the paper’s licence.

    Not in our library

20. 20.

    This reference’s wording can’t be shown under the paper’s licence.

    Not in our library

21. 21.

    This reference’s wording can’t be shown under the paper’s licence.

    Not in our library

22. 22.

    This reference’s wording can’t be shown under the paper’s licence.

    Not in our library

23. 23.

    This reference’s wording can’t be shown under the paper’s licence.

    Not in our library

24. 24.

    This reference’s wording can’t be shown under the paper’s licence.

    Not in our library

25. 25.

    This reference’s wording can’t be shown under the paper’s licence.

    Not in our library

26. 26.

    This reference’s wording can’t be shown under the paper’s licence.

    Not in our library

27. 27.

    This reference’s wording can’t be shown under the paper’s licence.

    Not in our library

28. 28.

    This reference’s wording can’t be shown under the paper’s licence.

    Not in our library

29. 29.

    This reference’s wording can’t be shown under the paper’s licence.

    Not in our library

30. 30.

    This reference’s wording can’t be shown under the paper’s licence.

    Not in our library

31. 31.

    This reference’s wording can’t be shown under the paper’s licence.

    Not in our library

32. 32.

    This reference’s wording can’t be shown under the paper’s licence.

    Not in our library

33. 33.

    This reference’s wording can’t be shown under the paper’s licence.

    Not in our library

34. 34.

    This reference’s wording can’t be shown under the paper’s licence.

    Not in our library

35. 35.

    This reference’s wording can’t be shown under the paper’s licence.

    Not in our library

36. 36.

    This reference’s wording can’t be shown under the paper’s licence.

    Not in our library

37. 37.

    This reference’s wording can’t be shown under the paper’s licence.

    Not in our library

38. 38.

    This reference’s wording can’t be shown under the paper’s licence.

    Not in our library

39. 39.

    This reference’s wording can’t be shown under the paper’s licence.

    Not in our library

40. 40.

    This reference’s wording can’t be shown under the paper’s licence.

    Not in our library

41. 41.

    This reference’s wording can’t be shown under the paper’s licence.

    Not in our library

42. 42.

    This reference’s wording can’t be shown under the paper’s licence.

    Not in our library

43. 43.

    This reference’s wording can’t be shown under the paper’s licence.

    Not in our library

44. 44.

    This reference’s wording can’t be shown under the paper’s licence.

    Not in our library

45. 45.

    This reference’s wording can’t be shown under the paper’s licence.

    Not in our library

46. 46.

    This reference’s wording can’t be shown under the paper’s licence.

    Not in our library

47. 47.

    This reference’s wording can’t be shown under the paper’s licence.

    Not in our library

48. 48.

    This reference’s wording can’t be shown under the paper’s licence.

    Not in our library

49. 49.

    This reference’s wording can’t be shown under the paper’s licence.

    Not in our library

50. 50.

    This reference’s wording can’t be shown under the paper’s licence.

    Not in our library

51. 51.

    This reference’s wording can’t be shown under the paper’s licence.

    Not in our library

52. 52.

    This reference’s wording can’t be shown under the paper’s licence.

    Not in our library

53. 53.

    This reference’s wording can’t be shown under the paper’s licence.

    Not in our library

54. 54.

    This reference’s wording can’t be shown under the paper’s licence.

    Not in our library

55. 55.

    This reference’s wording can’t be shown under the paper’s licence.

    Not in our library

56. 56.

    This reference’s wording can’t be shown under the paper’s licence.

    Not in our library

57. 57.

    This reference’s wording can’t be shown under the paper’s licence.

    Not in our library

58. 58.

    This reference’s wording can’t be shown under the paper’s licence.

    Not in our library

59. 59.

    This reference’s wording can’t be shown under the paper’s licence.

    Not in our library

60. 60.

    This reference’s wording can’t be shown under the paper’s licence.

    Not in our library

61. 61.

    This reference’s wording can’t be shown under the paper’s licence.

    Not in our library

62. 62.

    This reference’s wording can’t be shown under the paper’s licence.

    Not in our library

63. 63.

    This reference’s wording can’t be shown under the paper’s licence.

    Not in our library

64. 64.

    This reference’s wording can’t be shown under the paper’s licence.

    Not in our library

65. 65.

    This reference’s wording can’t be shown under the paper’s licence.

    Not in our library

66. 66.

    This reference’s wording can’t be shown under the paper’s licence.

    Not in our library

67. 67.

    This reference’s wording can’t be shown under the paper’s licence.

    Not in our library

68. 68.

    This reference’s wording can’t be shown under the paper’s licence.

    Not in our library

69. 69.

    This reference’s wording can’t be shown under the paper’s licence.

    Not in our library

70. 70.

    This reference’s wording can’t be shown under the paper’s licence.

    Not in our library

71. 71.

    This reference’s wording can’t be shown under the paper’s licence.

    Not in our library

72. 72.

    This reference’s wording can’t be shown under the paper’s licence.

    Not in our library

Cited by papers we hold 3

• Linking pollution and cancer in aquatic environments: A review · 2021
  Not checked
• Comparative Oncology: New Insights into an Ancient Disease · 2020
  Not checked
• TP53 copy number expansion is associated with the evolution of increased body size and an enhanced DNA damage response in elephants · 2016
  Corrected

Reads

A person counts once a day per paper. We keep no cookie and no address: a reader is a hash that changes every day. Any month under five reads shows no number.