COMPASS/ADRYAN YOGA PARAMADWYA
Goats look for food at the waste burning site in Kampung Gasong, Menteng Atas, South Jakarta, Monday (21/8/2023). Burning waste, especially plastic materials, can release a number of substances that are harmful to the health of living creatures.
Exposure to chemicals such as PFAS and phenol has long been known to be involved in breast, ovarian, skin and uterine cancer. Recent research has found that women who suffer from cancer have much higher levels of the chemical in their bodies.
Of note, their research does not prove that exposure to chemicals such as PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) and phenols (including bisphenol A/BPA) is a cancer diagnosis. However, their findings provide a strong signal that these ingredients may play a role and should be studied further.
This study was conducted by researchers from the University of California San Francisco (UCSF), the University of Southern California (USC), and the University of Michigan. All three are part of the Environmental Health Sciences Core Center funded by the National Institutes of Health.
These PFAS chemicals appear to disrupt hormone function in women.
Studies show, especially for women, higher exposure to PFDE (perfluorooctanoic acid), a long-chain PFAS compound, doubles the odds of being diagnosed with melanoma. Women with higher exposure to two other long-chain PFAS compounds, namely PFNA (perfluorononanoic acid) and PFUA (perfluoroundecanoic acid), had almost double the odds of being diagnosed with melanoma.
The researchers also showed a link between PFNA and uterine cancer diagnosis. Additionally, women with higher exposure to phenols, such as BPA (which is used in plastics) and 2,5-dichlorophenol (a chemical used in dyes and found as a byproduct in wastewater treatment), had a higher chance of being diagnosed with ovarian cancer. .
They used blood and urine sample data from more than 10,000 people in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). They examined current phenol and PFAS exposures associated with cancer diagnoses and examined racial or ethnic disparities. This study was published on Sunday (17/9/2023) in Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology.
“These findings highlight the need to consider PFAS and phenols as overall environmental risk factors for cancer risk in women,” said Max Aung, senior author of the study who was at the UCSF Program for Reproductive and Environmental Health, on the official website. UCSF, Sunday (17/9/2023). He is a professor of environmental health at the USC Keck School of Medicine.
PFAS are everywhere
PFAS have contaminated water, food, and humans through products such as Teflon pans, waterproof clothing, stain-resistant carpets and fabrics, and food packaging. These chemicals are often referred to as “long-lasting chemicals” because they are resistant to decomposition so they can last for decades in the environment.
“These PFAS chemicals appear to interfere with hormone function in women, which is one potential mechanism that increases the likelihood of hormone-related cancers in women,” said Amber Cathey, lead author of the study and a scientist at the University of Michigan.
Also read: Toxic PFAS chemicals found in “popcorn” from the United States
The study also identified racial disparities. The association between various PFAS and ovarian and uterine cancer was only observed in white women. On the other hand, the association between a PFAS called MPAH (2-(N-methyl-PFOSA)acetic acid) and a phenol called BPF (bisphenol-F) and breast cancer was only observed in nonwhite women.
”As communities across the country grapple with PFAS contamination, this adds further evidence supporting policymakers developing actions to reduce PFAS exposure,” said Tracey J Woodruff, UCSF professor and Director of the Reproductive and Environmental Health Program and Director of the UCSF EarTH Center.
2023-09-20 12:17:11
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