BPA Study Suggests Possible Cancer Risk

An emerging study on the effects of <"https://www.yourlawyer.com/practice_areas/toxic_substances">bisphenol A—BPA—conducted at Tufts University School of Medicine has revealed the compound’s carcinogenic effects. BPA is a known endocrine-disrupting chemical (EDC) that has hormone-like, often described as estrogenic, effects on the body. This particular review article was published online this week in the May 25 issue of Nature Reviews Endocrinology, said Science Daily.

The ubiquitous chemicals and their effects call for more complex study strategies said the study authors, adding that more study is needed to understand how BPA affects health. They also maintained that sufficient evidence supports changing public health and environmental policies to protect the public from exposure to EDCs, wrote Science Daily.

A plastic hardener used in polycarbonate manufacturing, BPA is commonly found in the lining of food and beverage cans, a wide array of plastic products, thermal paper, and resins used in nautical paint. And, while it has long been recognized that BPA affects animal hormone levels, science points to the same issues in humans.

“The strength and breadth of existing research on the negative effects of EDCs, including bisphenol A, warrants immediate action to reduce EDC exposure, particularly among the developing fetus and women of reproductive age,” said author Carlos Sonnenschein, MD, professor in the department of anatomy and cellular biology at Tufts University School of Medicine (TUSM), quoted Science Daily. “Developing embryos ‘read’ environmental cues as a forecast of the outside world. These cues can affect the way certain genes are expressed and in this way alter the structure and function of organs. Studies in rodents show that EDCs can cause harm at much lower levels if exposure happens during organ formation as opposed to exposures during adulthood,” added author Ana Soto, MD, professor in the department of anatomy and cellular biology at TUSM.

“The evidence indicates that exposure to BPA and other EDCs may contribute to diseases that manifest during adult life, such as increased cancer rates in the industrialized world. These chemicals have also been linked to obesity, altered behavior, and infertility,” continued Soto, reported Science Daily.

BPA imitates the hormone estrogen and acts as an anti-androgen, which means, even in the smallest of amounts, BPA affects sexual development and processes, especially in developing fetuses, infants, and children, explained Science Daily previously.

Hundreds and hundreds of studies have linked the ubiquitous chemical to a growing number of diseases and disorders and continue to confirm that BPA appears to cause significant disruption to the body’s endocrine system. BPA has been linked to cardiovascular disease, intestinal problems, brain cell connection interference, increased risks of reproductive and immune system diseases and disorders, problems with liver function testing, interruptions in chemotherapy treatment, links with serious health problems, and erectile dysfunction and other sexual problems in males. In urine tests, BPA is found in the overwhelming majority of Americans, more than 93 percent and, significantly, the chemical is found in 90 percent of all newborns.

In earlier animal studies, Soto and Sonnenschein observed that exposure to even trace BPA levels increases cancer risks in adulthood. Both are experts in carcinogenesis and metastasis and are members of the cell, molecular, and developmental biology program faculty at the Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences at Tufts, wrote Science Daily.