Whether through cosmetics, food packaging, textiles, receipts or even household products, every day, many chemicals come into direct contact with those who use them, which would not be without consequences. about health.
Regular exposure to PFAS, for perfluokarylated and polyfluokarylated substances, and phenols (including BPA) could play a role in the development of breast cancer, according to researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, United States. , ovary, skin and uterus. Likewise, women would have a double risk of melanoma, that is to say developing a second skin cancer. In fact, researchers discovered “significantly higher levels” in the bodies of these patients. Experts note, however, that this is not a cause and effect relationship. Their results are published in the Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology.
“Forever pollutants” increase the risk of certain cancers in women
To carry out their research, specialists analyzed the concentration of seven PFAS and 12 phenols and parabens in more than 10,000 patients with thyroid, breast, ovarian, uterine and prostate cancer. in men and women aged over twenty. The data was collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the American health authorities.
The researchers’ results show that women exposed to PFAS had a greater risk of developing “hormonal-related” cancer. As a reminder, PFAS, also known as “forever chemicals”, are so called because they accumulate in human tissues and in the environment and their decomposition occurs very slowly. Specifically, the researchers noted that women exposed to higher concentrations of BPA (found in plastic), BP3 and two dichlorophenols “were associated with a higher risk of ovarian cancer”.
Perennial pollutants could disrupt women’s hormonal function
But how can we explain this association? According to Amber Cathey, a research scientist at the University of Michigan who speaks in a statement, “These PFAS chemicals appear to disrupt hormonal function in women, which is a potential mechanism that increases the risk of hormone-related cancers in women.” However, the researchers note that no similar association was observed in men.
“These results highlight the need to consider PFAS and phenols as entire classes of environmental risk factors for cancer risk in women,” estimates in the press release Max Aung, associate professor of environmental health at the USC Keck School of Medicine.
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