Findings by Cincinnati Cancer Center
researchers show that levels of bisphenol A (BPA) in men's urine could be a
marker of prostate cancer and that low levels of BPA exposure can cause
cellular changes in both non-malignant and malignant prostate cells.
This research, published in the March 3 edition of PLOS
ONE, provides the first evidence that urinary BPA levels may help predict
prostate cancer and that disruption of a cell duplication cycle through exposure
to low-dose BPA may cause cancer development in the prostate.
BPA, an environmental pollutant with estrogen activity, is used to
make hard, clear plastic and is common in many food product containers. It has
been linked to neurological defects, diabetes and a number of cancers,
including breast and prostate.
Principle investigator Shuk-mei Ho, PhD, director of the
Cincinnati Cancer Center, Jacob G. Schmidlapp Chair of Environmental Health and
professor at the University of Cincinnati College Of Medicine, says that human
exposure to BPA is a common occurrence and that animal studies have shown that
BPA contributes to development of prostate cancer but that human data are
scarce.
"Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer among men
in North America, and one in six men will develop it over their lifetime,"
she says. "However, the cancer is rarely diagnosed in men under the age of
40 with almost two-thirds of cases reported in men at age 65.
"Major contributing factors other than age are race and family
history, whereas little is known about the impact of endocrine disruptors on
prostate cancer."
Ho says that in the United States, exposure to BPA is
widespread—exceeding 90 percent in the general population—and that absorption
through the skin, inhalation and ingestion from contaminated food and water are
the major kinds of exposure.
"As an endocrine disruptor that mimics estrogen and thyroid
hormones, BPA also acts as a metabolic and immune disruptor," says Ho.
"The adverse health effects of BPA are extensive, and studies in animals
have proven this".
"However, human studies linking BPA exposure to heightened
cancer risk are limited," she continues. "Our study examined the
association between urinary BPA levels and prostate cancer and assessed the effects
of BPA on the initiation of centrosome abnormalities as an underlying mechanism
promoting prostate cancer formation."
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