Higher Frequency of Blood Mutations in WTC First Responders

Research Brief

Higher Frequency of Blood Mutations in WTC First Responders

Cuerpo

The collapse of the World Trade Center (WTC) following the 9/11 attacks exposed first-responders and nearby residents to high levels of dust and gases, some of them potential carcinogens.

In a study published online on March 7 in Nature Medicine, Amit Verma, M.B.B.S., and colleagues reported results from analyzing genes in blood samples from 481 WTC-exposed first responders and 255 non-WTC exposed firefighters; the researchers focused on 237 genes frequently mutated in leukemia and other blood malignancies. Ten percent (48/481) of the firefighters were found to have clonal hematopoiesis (CH), i.e., mutations in blood cells associated with smoking and exposure to gene-toxic stimuli)—a CH incidence more than two to three times greater than for non-WTC firefighters. CH is associated with higher risk for developing leukemia and other health problems including heart attacks, asthma, and diabetes.

Dr. Verma is director of the division of hemato-oncology at Montefiore and professor of medicine and of developmental and molecular biology at Einstein. These studies were done in collaboration with Rachel Zeig-Owens, Dr.P.H., M.P.H., research assistant professor of epidemiology & population health at Einstein and an epidemiologist at Montefiore and FDNY; David Prezant, M.D., professor of medicine at Einstein, a clinical pulmonologist at Montefiore, and the Chief Medical Officer at the FDNY; Kith Pradhan, Ph.D., assistant professor of epidemiology & population health at Einstein; Michael Savona, M.D., at Vanderbilt University; Advaitha Madireddy, Ph.D., at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and Anna Nolan, M.D., at NYU Grossman School of Medicine.