Frog as sentinel of human cancer incidence in Southern Italy’s so-called ‘Terra Dei Fuochi’

Abstract

The southern Italy waste management crisis has reached epic proportions, posing grave health risks to the populations. Epidemiological data from Campania indicated that there might be a causal relationship between illegal dumping of toxic substances and incidence of cancer. Our data showed the relationship between the wrong management of municipal toxic waste and the effects on human health, demonstrated by monitoring the DNA damage in animal sentinel edible frog (Pelophylax kl. esculentus).