Study Links Plastic Chemicals and Dyes to Women’s Cancers

A recent study suggests that exposure to certain endocrine-disrupting chemicals, including 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 cancer in women, including breast, ovarian, skin, and uterine cancers. While the study does not establish a direct causation, it revealed that women diagnosed with these cancers tend to have significantly higher levels of these chemicals in their bodies.

PFAS, often referred to as “forever chemicals,” have infiltrated water, food, and people through products like Teflon pans, waterproof clothing, and food packaging. Researchers found that women with greater exposure to long-chain PFAS compounds, such as PFDE, PFNA, and PFUA, were more likely to have had previous diagnoses of melanoma (a form of skin cancer). Additionally, PFNA was linked to prior uterine cancer diagnoses, while higher phenol exposure, including BPA from plastics and 2,5-dichlorophenol from dyes and wastewater by-products, was associated with increased odds of previous ovarian cancer diagnoses.

Notably, these associations were observed primarily in white women for PFAS-related ovarian and uterine cancers and in non-white women for PFAS MPAH and phenol BPF in relation to breast cancer. Max Aung, an Associate Professor of environmental health at the University of Southern California’s Keck School of Medicine, emphasized the need to consider PFAS and phenols as significant environmental risk factors for cancer in women. The findings underline the urgency for policymakers to address PFAS contamination and reduce exposure to these chemicals in various consumer products.

Re-reported from the article originally published in The Bhaskar Live