The Rural Voice, 2003-01, Page 41The leading edge
Study finds Windsor -area farm
women more prone to breast cancer
A University of Windsor
researcher has called for further
investigation after a study of women
treated at the Windsor Regional
Cancer Centre found women who
worked on farms in the surrounding
farming area were up to nine times as
likely to develop breast cancer as
those who have never been employed
in agriculture.
The study found the risk was
elevated for women 55 and younger.
• Farm women 56 and older did not
show the higher incidence of breast
cancer.
James Brophy, an adjunct lecturer
at University of Windsor and the
study's lead author noted that Essex
County is one of the largest fruit and
vegetable growing areas in Canada.
Although the study did not conclude
definitively that pesticides cause •
breast cancer, Brophy said further
work should be conducted to
determine what it is about farming
that would increase a woman's risk of
the disease.
"We don't know from our study if
it's pesticides or not. There is good
evidence for conjecture that
(pesticides) would certainly be the
primary substances of investigation."
The findings were published in the
International Journal of Occupational
and Environmental Health.
Brophy speculated that teenaged
girls and young women may be
particularly vulnerable to pesticide
exposure because breast tissue
develops so rapidly from the time of a
girl's first period to her first preg-
nancy, when cells prepare for lacta-
tion. Genetic damage caused by pest-
icides in breast cells during this period
of rapid growth could lead to breast
cancer later in life, Brophy said.
The study did not set out to
examine breast cancer but was
looking for general clues whether
specific jobs were linked to different
types of cancers.
A cancer expert cautioned that the
study's results do not offer proof that
pesticides cause breast cancer.
"I certainly wouldn't jump to the
conclusion from this that farming
exposure and in particular pesticides
have been demonstrated to be a risk
factor," said Richard Gallagher, head
of cancer control for the British
Columbia Cancer Agency.0
— Source: The Globe and Mail
GM sheep show potential, problems
Genetically modified sheep grow bigger and faster but they also require more
care, a top Australian science group says.
The government -supported Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research
Organization said it has concluded a three-year research project that monitored
generations of sheep genetically modified with an extra copy of the gene that
stimulates the production of the growth hormone. The conclusion, according to
project leader Norm Adams, was that GM sheep were leaner, which could result
in health problems, while some were susceptible to diabetes. Despite this their
overall mortality rate appeared to vary little from normal sheep.
Adams said his research indicated the extra growth hormone gene affects
sheep breeds differently. "GM Merino sheep grew more wool while the Poll
Dorset breed grew less." In some GM offspring the extra gene, although present,
was silenced and not expressed.
GM ewes experienced a prolonged lactation period, producing on average
twice the amount of milk as the control group of sheep and they continued to
produce milk after weaning. This might bode well for dairy sheep producers who
milk sheep for milk to produce yogurt and cheese. The composition of GM milk
appeared to be the same as normal sheep milk.
An unforeseen finding was that GM sheep indicated a lower tolerance for
parasites than the control sheep. They also required extra care. For example, their
hooves overgrew and required regular clipping, Adams said.0
Source — Reuters News Agency.
New tester could give
cattlemen genetic
information
A machine not much bigger
than a kitchen breadmaker could
give cattlemen key information on
the genetic potential of their
cattle.
The machine, which analyzes
minute samples of bovine DNA
and transfers it to a laptop
computer, can give data that no
wily cattlebuyer can discem from
sight: information on whether the
animal has the genetic potential to
produce AAA well -marbled beef.
University of Saskatchewan
researchers identified a genetic
mutation that signals an animal's
likelihood to produce well -
marbled beef. Leptin is produced
as the body lays down fat and as
the brain senses an increase in
leptin it reduces appetite. But in
animals with a mutation, there's
no signal to reduce appetite.
Leigh Marquess and his
colleagues at Quantum Genetics
Inc. developed the tests to be able
to detect the gene.
"It is one of the few things I've
seen in 20 years that is directly
linked to carcass traits," said Kee
Jim, a cattle feeder and
veterinarian who had his cattle
tested. "If a fairly straightforward
test can get you information on
carcass traits, that is not a
common thing in the beef cattle
production system."
"It has tremendous implica-
tions in the industry," said Duncan
Porteous, general manager of the
Canadian Hereford Association.
"It will have a major effect on
selecting seed stock animals on
the basis that the mutation will
identify cattle that will generally
tend to marble in the top
category."
He added it will be interesting
to see how the market reacts to the
new technology and how it
influences the price of breeding
animals with the marbling gene
and without it.0
— Source: Western Producer
JANUARY 2003 37