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. 2021 Jun 1:278:116838.
doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2021.116838. Epub 2021 Mar 1.

A look beyond the priority: A systematic review of the genotoxic, mutagenic, and carcinogenic endpoints of non-priority PAHs

Francisco Carlos da Silva Junior  1 , Maria Beatriz Mesquita Cansanção Felipe  2 , Denis Elvis Farias de Castro  1 , Sinara Carla da Silva Araújo  1 , Herbert Costa Nóbrega Sisenando  3 , Silvia Regina Batistuzzo de Medeiros  4
Affiliations

A look beyond the priority: A systematic review of the genotoxic, mutagenic, and carcinogenic endpoints of non-priority PAHs

Francisco Carlos da Silva Junior et al. Environ Pollut. .

Abstract

Knowledge of the toxic potential of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) has increased over time. Much of this knowledge is about the 16 United States - Environmental Protection Agency (US - EPA) priority PAHs; however, there are other US - EPA non-priority PAHs in the environment, whose toxic potential is underestimated. We conducted a systematic review of in vitro, in vivo, and in silico studies to assess the genotoxicity, mutagenicity, and carcinogenicity of 13 US - EPA non-priority parental PAHs present in the environment. Electronic databases, such as Science Direct, PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar, and Web of Science, were used to search for research with selected terms without time restrictions. After analysis, following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) protocol, 249 articles, published between 1946 and 2020, were selected and the quality assessment of these studies was performed. The results showed that 5-methylchrysene (5-MC), 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (7,12-DMBA), cyclopenta[cd]pyrene (CPP), and dibenzo[al]pyrene (Db[al]P) were the most studied PAHs. Moreover, 5-MC, 7,12-DMBA, benz[j]aceanthrylene (B[j]A), CPP, anthanthrene (ANT), dibenzo[ae]pyrene (Db[ae]P), and Db[al]P have been reported to cause mutagenic effects and have been being associated with a risk of carcinogenicity. Retene (RET) and benzo[c]fluorene (B[c]F), the least studied compounds, showed evidence of a strong influence on the mutagenicity and carcinogenicity endpoints. Overall, this systematic review provided evidence of the genotoxic, mutagenic, and carcinogenic endpoints of US - EPA non-priority PAHs. However, further studies are needed to improve the future protocols of environmental analysis and risk assessment in severely exposed populations.

Keywords: Carcinogenicity; EPA’s non-priority; Genotoxicity; Mutagenicity; Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

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