A multicenter and collaborative investigation, developed by the Cancer Epidemiology research group of ibs.GRANADA, has provided new evidence about the relationship between exposure to BPA and cancer.

There are already enough studies that indicate the role that certain compounds present in some plastics and other products of daily use can play, interfering in the hormonal activity of the organism. This is the case of Bisphenol A (BPA), a compound widely used in the manufacture of polysulfones and polycarbonate plastic, epoxy polymers and resins, or thermal paper, of which around 5 million tons are produced per year.

Due to its potential effect as an endocrine disruptor, BPA could be related to the appearance of certain types of cancers considered hormone dependent, such as breast cancer or prostate cancer. However, few human studies to date have studied the association between BPA exposure and the risk of developing these two cancers.

The study is led by Dr. Maria José Sánchez, scientific director of ibs.GRANADA, and Dr. Miguel Rodriguez Barranco, in collaboration with the Basic and Clinical Oncology research group led by Dr. Nicolás Olea. This is a powerful and pioneering follow-up work for 20 years to a sample of just over 4.800 individuals (547 women with breast cancer, 575 men with prostate cancer and 3790 people free of the disease), funded by the Institute of Salud Carlos III, and framed within the European Prospective Study on Nutrition and Cancer (EPIC) that involved four Spanish provinces (Gipuzkoa, Granada, Murcia and Navarra).

Taking as a reference the blood samples collected at the beginning of the EPIC project between 1992 and 1996, the exposure to BPA of all study participants was determined by measuring the concentration in serum, always before developing the disease. After this two-decade follow-up in which the subjects who developed breast cancer or prostate cancer were identified, it was possible to compare the levels present in the body between healthy individuals and those diagnosed with one of these two cancers.

The results showed a higher risk of developing prostate cancer in men with higher levels of BPA in their blood, compared to those who had undetectable levels of this compound. This result was independent of other factors that could act as risk or protective against prostate cancer. However, no association was found between levels of BPA exposure and the risk of developing breast cancer in women.

This study is the first to date that has analyzed the effect of long-term exposure to BPA on the risk of two of the most common cancers, using a cohort design, with a long-term follow-up and a considerable number of participants , thus making it an investigation that will continue to yield important results that help to continue increasing the knowledge about the risk factors that contribute to the cancer “pandemic” in today's society.

About the research groups involved

The A17 Cancer Epidemiology group of the ibs.GRANADA was created within the Granada Cancer Registry (RCG) of the Andalusian Cancer Registry (https://www.registrocancergranada.es/), whose activity began in 1985. It includes researchers from the Andalusian School of Public Health (EASP) and CIBERESP with extensive training and experience in different areas: oncology, cancer epidemiology, statistics, health economics, environmental epidemiology, public health, anthropology and psychology.

Researchers have participated in multicenter research projects, both national and international, related to the etiology, medical care and survival of cancer patients, environmental epidemiology, and health economics. One of the group's most relevant research projects is the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC), a multicenter cohort that began in 1992, with the participation of 521.000 people in 10 European countries. Its objective is to analyze the relationship between nutrition, lifestyle and environmental factors with the incidence of cancer and other chronic diseases (http://epic.iarc.fr/). During the last 5 years (2015-2020) the group's researchers have led and coordinated 18 projects as IP, of which 6 are international, 8 national, and 4 regional. Some of the relevant multicenter and European research projects include a project of excellence INTERCIBER, RARECARE, EPIC-CVD, EUROCARE, CONCORD, JARC, IMPACT-HTA, MAPPING and ADVANCE-HTA.

The group A15 of Basic and Clinical Oncology of the ibs.GRANADA is a multidisciplinary group made up of clinical doctors, physiotherapists, biologists, chemists and environmentalists who join their efforts in the study of the environmental causes of common diseases and in the diagnosis and treatment of tumor diseases. They participate in the CIBER of Epidemiology and Public Health, (Area of Labor and Environmental Epidemiology), the Childhood and Environment Network (INMA), the European Network for Biomonitoring of Environmental Exposure (HBM4EU), the Biobank Platform and collaboration in the studies MCC-Spain, EPIC-Spain and Project of Excellence of the ibs.Granada.

Bibliographic reference

Salamanca-Fernández E, Rodríguez-Barranco M, Amiano P, Delfrade J, Chirlaque MD, Colorado S, Guevara M, Jimenez A, Arrebola JP, Vela F, Olea N, Agudo A, Sánchez MJ. Bisphenol-A exposure and risk of breast and prostate cancer in the Spanish European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition study. Environ Health. 2021 Aug 16; 20 (1): 88. doi: 10.1186 / s12940-021-00779-y. PMID: 34399780; PMCID: PMC8369702. (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34399780/ )

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