Exposure to Bisphenol-A in developing prostate increases risk of later cancer
Early exposure to Bisphenol-A or BPA, an additive commonly found in plastic bottles and containers, food can lining and thermal paper receipts; is linked to an increased risk of prostate cancer
04.07.2013 |Science Daily
As she explains "This is the first direct evidence that exposure to BPA during development, at the levels we see in our day-to-day environment, increases de risk for prostate cancer in human prostate tissue". BPA is considered to be an endocrine disruptor, this means it interferes with the body's endocrine system and produces adverse effects in humans and wildlife.
The increased risk can be traced to prostate stem and progenitor cells which become "sensitized" to estrogen early in development through exposure to BPA- which mimics estrogen in the body. Environmental exposure to compounds like BPA that mimic hormones has become common, said Prins.
Prostate stem cells pass on the increased estrogen sensitivity to the prostate tissues they produce throughout life. As prostate cancer is fueled in part by naturally rising estrogen levels in aging men, the prostate tissue´s increased sensitivity to estrogen makes the development of cancer much more likely.
Previous studies by Prins and colleagues conducted on rats determined that exposure to elevated estrogen or BPA during embryonic development, increased the rate of prostate cancer later in life. More recently the study was extended by implanting human prostate stem cells in rats `hosts` and exposing them to BPA and increased estrogen levels at similar doses to those that we are exposed today. The results were the more exposure to BPA, the more cancer risk development at a later stage in life.
Decrease your BPA exposure by avoiding thermal receipts paper, canned food and any plastic bottles or containers, unless BPA-free.
To see the original article, visit
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/06/130617122133.htm
