Inclusion of “Toxicological Review Expiry Dates” in Art Material Labels May Further Reduce the Risk of Chronic Toxicity, Including That of Cancer

Art materials are used by individuals of all ages, ranging from kindergarten children to adults studying the arts at a university level, as well as the general public, senior citizens, and mentally compromised individuals. Art materials have the potential of containing toxic materials, including carcinogens (such as nickel, chromium, cadmium, and lead) and reproductive toxins in their formulations. These toxic chemicals can be present as a result of intentional addition or contaminants. Such occurrences are expected to be higher in products manufactured in countries where product safety laws are less strict or not properly enforced. Exposure to carcinogenic chemicals causes DNA damage leading to mutations that can activate oncogenes or inactivate antioncogenes, thus, predisposing cells to oncogenesis. Importantly, the heavy metals, such as nickel, can also dysregulate homologous DNA recombination (HR) (1). Although HR in normal cells is the most precise DNA repair mechanism and plays a vital role in the maintenance of genomic integrity, its dysregulation can induce genomic instability (2, 3), which is associated with progression in cancer (2). Data from our laboratory also show that exposure to nickel is associated with induction of a panel of HR genes, including (RAD51, RAD51 paralogs, RAD50, and RAD23) as well as leads to increased HR activity, genomic instability, and development of drug resistance in cancer (myeloma) cells (2). Toxic metals (such as nickel, copper, mercury, and lead) also induce breaks in DNA. Exposure to such chemicals even at low doses can be risky because their genotoxic effect can potentially be increased by their interactions with each other and/or with other environmental or genetic factors. It has been demonstrated that simultaneous exposure to more than one heavy metals is associated with increased toxicity, relative to that observed following exposure to single metal (4). Toxicity of these compounds can also be increased in the presence of X-rays. A model proposed by Hengstler et al. (5) suggests that simultaneous exposure to multiple metals can lead to several fold increase in the toxicity relative to that induced by single compound. We, therefore, believe that constant exposure to material containing such chemicals can potentially increase cancer risk, especially in the individuals with genetic and/or other susceptibilities, including those related to certain lifestyles (6). Consistently, the reports suggest that there is an increased incidence of death due to cancers of various organs in artists (7, 8). Art Materials that do contain toxic materials can have serious …