More than a dozen chemicals used in commonly used herbicides may increase the risk of prostate cancer, alarming research suggests today.
Tests on nearly 300 pesticides found 22 had “direct” links to the disease, and four were shown to increase the likelihood of death.
One of them is the main ingredient in the popular Roundup spray, which earlier this year was also blamed for causing blood cancer in an American man.
However, only a handful of the 22 identified are currently legal in the UK.
US researchers said the research demonstrated the importance of the environment as a risk factor for the disease, which kills more than 11,500 men in the UK each year.
But they acknowledged that the article was merely observational and could not prove causality.
Dr. Simon John Christoph Soerensen, the study’s lead author and a prostate cancer expert at Stanford University, said his research could “potentially explain” some of the “geographical variations” in prostate cancer incidence and deaths. in the United States.
“From these findings, we can work to reduce the number of men affected by this disease.”
Tests on nearly 300 pesticides found 22 had “direct” links to the disease, and four were shown to increase the likelihood of death.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 1,000 different pesticides are used worldwide.
They are used in agriculture to control weeds, insect pests, and disease carriers such as mosquitoes, ticks, rats, and mice. They also allow farmers to protect the quantity and quality of crops.
Some are also used to make products that gardeners buy to protect their crops at home, such as RoundUp.
Pesticide consumption has grown almost 60 percent since 1990, reaching 2.66 billion kg (5.86 billion pounds) in 2020.
But the elderly, children and fetuses are especially susceptible to the adverse effects of pesticides.
In the study, researchers evaluated data on the estimated annual use of the 295 pesticides between 1997 and 2001.
They then compared it to prostate cancer diagnoses and deaths between 2011 and 2015, to account for the slow-growing nature of most prostate cancers.
The same was done for pesticide use between 2002 and 2006 and prostate cancer outcomes between 2016 and 2020.
More than 52,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer each year on average in the UK, making it the most common cancer in men.
writing in the diary CancerResearchers said 19 of the 22 pesticides associated with prostate cancer had never before been linked to the disease.
But only eight of these 22 are currently authorized for use in the UK.
Among them was the agricultural herbicide 2,4-dichloroacetic acid, better known as 2,4-D.
Animal studies have shown that exposure to it during pregnancy is associated with lower body weight and changes in offspring behavior.
Other investigation It has been shown that there is a greater relationship with lymphoma and prolonged exposure can cause kidney and liver damage.
Another, glyphosate, the main ingredient in Roundup, is also a known endocrine disruptor that can interfere with hormonal systems.
Endocrine disruptors have also been linked to a number of health problems, including birth defects and developmental disorders.
Glyphosate is found in Roundup’s Fast Action Ready to Use herbicide and Weedkiller Ready to Use Path in the UK.
The makers of Roundup (Monsanto and its owner Bayer AG) have repeatedly assured the public that their product is safe and does not pose a threat to human health.
This CRUK graph shows the incidence of prostate cancer over time among different age groups, while older men remain the most likely to suffer from the disease, rates have risen dramatically among younger men since the 1990s .
Is However, the manufacturers—Monsanto and its owner Bayer AG—have repeatedly assured the public that their product is safe and does not pose a threat to human health.
However, earlier this year, Pennsylvania outfielder John McKivison, 49, won a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against Bayer after he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2020, which he and his lawyers successfully argued was the result of use of Roundup for two decades.
According to the researchers, four of the 22 pesticides were also associated with deaths from prostate cancer.
While they are available in the US, none of the four (trifluralin, chloransulam-methyl, thiamethoxam and diflufenzopyr) are legally used in the UK.
One in eight men will develop prostate cancer at some point in their lives, charities say. More than 52,000 men in Britain are diagnosed with this disease each year.
But thousands are diagnosed once it has already spread, making it the second most common cause of cancer death in men after lung cancer.
Experts agree that early detection is key to increasing survival rates.
Unlike other forms of cancer, which can be very difficult to diagnose in their early stages, prostate cancer has a relatively effective detection method.
PSA tests detect high levels of a protein that indicates that the prostate is not working as it should.
The risk of prostate cancer increases with age, with most cases diagnosed in men aged 50 and over, the NHS says.
A high PSA score is not always a sign of cancer; It can also be caused by an enlarged prostate, an infection, sexual activity, or even cycling.
However, patients with high results are usually sent for scans to identify the cause.
But most men under age 50 don’t get a PSA test unless they have symptoms.
Charities have been advocating for years to change this rule, especially for men with underlying risk factors.
Symptoms of the disease include needing to urinate more frequently, having to wait longer before being able to urinate, erectile dysfunction, blood in the urine, weight loss, or any new, unexplained lower back pain.