A study suggests that exposure to specific endocrine-disrupting chemicals, such as PFAS (per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances) and BPA (phenols), commonly found in everyday products like plastics, nonstick cookware, dyes, and more, may be contributing to the development of breast, ovarian, skin, and uterine cancers in women.
PFAS have contaminated water, food, and individuals
PFAS, often referred to as “forever chemicals,” have contaminated water, food, and individuals through items like Teflon pans, waterproof clothing, stain-resistant carpets, fabrics, and food packaging.
Although it doesn’t definitively prove that exposure to chemicals like PFAS and phenols, including BPA, directly causes these cancers, researchers discovered that women who developed these cancers had significantly higher levels of these chemicals in their bodies.
The research, published in the Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology, revealed that women, in particular, with greater exposure to PFDE, a long-chain PFAS compound, were twice as likely to have had a previous diagnosis of melanoma (a form of skin cancer).
Furthermore, women with higher exposure to two other long-chain PFAS compounds, PFNA (Proximal Femoral Nail Antirotation) and PFUA (Perfluoroundecanoic acid), had nearly double the odds of a prior melanoma diagnosis.
Analyzing blood and urine samples from over 10,000 individuals, the researchers also identified a connection between PFNA exposure and a previous diagnosis of uterine cancer.
They observed that women with higher exposure to phenols like BPA (used in plastics) and 2,5-dichlorophenol (a chemical found in dyes and wastewater treatment by-products) had a higher likelihood of previous ovarian cancer diagnoses.
Max Aung, an Associate Professor of environmental health at the University of Southern California’s Keck School of Medicine, emphasized, “These findings underscore the importance of considering PFAS and phenols as significant environmental risk factors for cancer in women.”
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The researchers also noted that the associations between various PFAS and ovarian and uterine cancers were observed primarily among white women, while the associations between a PFAS known as MPAH and a phenol called BPF and breast cancer were mainly observed among non-white women.
Tracey J. Woodruff, a professor at the University of California, San Francisco, stated, “As communities nationwide grapple with PFAS contamination, this study provides additional evidence supporting the need for policymakers to take action to reduce PFAS exposure.”
