Common Organic Compound Found In Many Household Products May Pose Health Risk To Breast Cells

Science Daily ^ | 4-3-2008 | California Pacific Medical Center

[blam]

Common Organic Compound Found In Many Household Products May Pose Health Risk To Breast Cells

Bisphenol A, a chemical that leaches into food and beverages from many consumer products, causes normal, non-cancerous human breast cells to express genes characteristic of aggressive breast cancer cells. (Credit: iStockphoto/Beata Becla)

ScienceDaily (Apr. 3, 2008) — Bisphenol A, a chemical that leaches into food and beverages from many consumer products, causes normal, non-cancerous human breast cells to express genes characteristic of aggressive breast cancer cells. That’s the finding of a “Priority Report” in the latest issue of the journal Cancer Research, the official journal of The American Association for Cancer Research.

This new information about bisphenol A (BPA) is timely because the State of California is currently considering placing BPA on the Prop 65 list of hazardous chemicals, and State Senator Fiona Ma has proposed legislation that would ban BPA in products used by children.

The study was done by researchers at the California Pacific Medical Center Research Institute, in collaboration with the Stanford Genome Technology Center.

The findings are significant because BPA is found in many plastic water bottles, in plastic baby bottles, in the lining in food cans, as well as in sealants used by dentists to protect teeth.

“This is a very common compound that most of us are exposed to on a regular basis, often without even being aware of it,” says William Goodson, M.D., Senior Clinical Research Scientist at the Institute and lead researcher on the study. “If it’s true that exposure to BPA can cause normal, non-cancerous human breast cells to behave in ways that are more characteristic of aggressive breast cancer cells, this is very worrying.”

The researchers did needle aspirations on eight consented women at high risk of breast cancer, or its recurrence, to remove a small sample of non-cancerous cells. The cells were exposed to BPA in the lab and then analyzed to see if the exposure had altered, in any way, the gene expression of the cells.

“We screened 40,000 genes in normal human cells that had been exposed to BPA and found a striking increase in the sets of genes that promote cell division, increase cell metabolism, and increase resistance to drugs that usually kill cancer cells, and prevent cells from developing to their normal mature forms,” says says Shanaz Dairkee, Ph.D., the Principal Investigator of this California State-funded project at CPMCRI, and the co-author of the study. “Breast cancer patients with this kind of gene expression tend to have a higher recurrence than other patients, and they have a worse survival rate.”

The researchers chose to focus on BPA because it is a common compound with a controversial reputation. BPA acts like an estrogen, and in animal studies has been shown to have carcinogenic effects including increasing the risk of breast and prostate cancer, as well as reducing sperm-count and impacting the immune system. A study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2004 found that 95 percent of people tested had traces of BPA in their urine, with women having higher blood concentrations of BPA then men, and children having higher concentrations than adults.

“Our use of fresh cells for short term cultures in this research is unusual in medical research,” emphasizes Dr. Goodson, “which makes the results especially useful because this is the closest we can ethically get to studying the effects of giving BPA directly to living people. Our cells are much closer to normal tissue than usual cell culture techniques which use cells that have been growing in laboratories for months or even years.”

"Although the study itself does not prove that BPA causes malignancy, the observation that exposure to BPA altered the expression of genes in human breast cells deserves further investigation," says Wenzhong Xiao, Ph.D., a senior researcher at Stanford Genome Technology Center and a co-author of the study.

The concentration of BPA that the researchers tested was very low (less than one tenth of a millionth of a gram per milliliter), but this concentration of BPA has been found in blood from pregnant women in both the United States and Germany.

Adapted from materials provided by California Pacific Medical Center, via Newswise.

[Gorzaloon]

Here come the lawyers.

[martin_fierro]

It must be true. I heard it in an e-mail once.

[Dianna]

Honestly, if this stuff is so prevalent, why don’t men get as many breast cancers as women?

[jdm]

The editorial staff at Science Daily is apparently behind a firewall and can't get to Snopes.

[coloradan]

Because we don’t have as many breast cells as women do. Smaller population = smaller probability of real problem cells.

[dbacks]

[Common Organic Compound Found In Many Household Products May Pose Health Risk To Breast Cells]

MAY MAY MAY MAY MAY MAY MAY MAY MAY MAY MAY MAY MAY MAY MAY MAY MAY MAY MAY MAY MAY MAY MAY MAY MAY MAY MAY MAY MAY MAY MAY MAY MAY MAY MAY MAY MAY MAY MAY MAY MAY MAY MAY MAY MAY

I am getting sick and tired of MAY. May cause cancer, may cause global warming, may slow global warming, may this, may that. Enough already. When you have proof of anything, come back and give us a truthful story instead of scare crap!

Fact, Hillary and O’Bama are both liars. Fact!

[acapesket]

I have some serious doubts about this.

[ATOMIC_PUNK]

Note to self

Never scrub my wifes breasts with Ajax or Chlorox ..!

[Mrs.Z]

“Honestly, if this stuff is so prevalent, why don’t men get as many breast cancers as women?”

Exactly.

Can’t be environmental, must be hormonal.

Mega increase in breast cancer rates just happened to coincide with legal, frequent abortion rates.

Duh.

[Gorzaloon]

Honestly, if this stuff is so prevalent, why don’t men get as many breast cancers as women?

Men are screened for them, but Yes, men rarely get breast cancer. I would suspect it has to do with the fat solubility of Bisphenol A that could concentrate it is some tissues.

This subject has come up before, and at that time I had checked to see if people who run injection molding machines (That use hot molten Lexan) and who are exposed to thousands of times the fumes as the general population had shown any carcinogenesis, but found no references in that search. BPA is used in other polymers also.

The MSDS says, "May be harmful - toxicology not fully investigated. Experimental teratogen. May affect fertility. May cause sensitization. "

The Trial Lawyers made a try on Teflon two years ago, praying that Teflon gave off toxic fumes. That one fell apart.

Expect the ads soon.

[ottbmare]

I don’t know if this stuff is the real culprit in breast cancer, but something sure is. There seems to be an epidemic of it. Out of 150 women in our office, a dozen or so have breast cancer. That’s a fairly high percentage. A lovely young mother in my neighborhood is dying from breast cancer. Three cousins have had it (that branch of the family has a genetic predisposition). Looking at death records from the nineteenth century, breast cancer was not often listed as a cause or contribution to death, and the medical literature back then doesn’t speak of it often.

[maine-iac7]

I recently visited P.E.I and was pleased to find that they allow soda and such ONLY in glass bottles ...

I only drink 2 or 3 sodas a month now, but I get the Canadian JONES brand or the American Polar Classic - in glass bottles and made with real sugar -

One thing for sure, the FDA doesn't give a rat's rump about our health. They are owned by the chemical companies...

How many prescription drugs get recalled year after year - after hundreds die...

gotta be our own researcher...

(I really like the Polar Classics sodas - they have the old flavors: Orange Cream, Vanilla Cream and Root Beer...now if they'd only make Moxie!)

[Grizzled Bear]

You may have a point.

[SuziQ]

now if they'd only make Moxie!)

Oh GAK that is nasty stuff!!

[sockmonkey]

I don’t know if this stuff is the real culprit in breast cancer, but something sure is. There seems to be an epidemic of it. Out of 150 women in our office, a dozen or so have breast cancer.

I think it has to do with birth control pills.

[Ole Okie]

Have a feeling that the Alar commotion is about to be repeated.

[GraceCoolidge]

Looking at death records from the nineteenth century, breast cancer was not often listed as a cause or contribution to death, and the medical literature back then doesn’t speak of it often.

I don't doubt that your statement is accurate, but there are other possible explanations. For example, look at the higher rate of women dying in childbirth-- many women did not live long enough to develop breast cancer. One possible cause of the increase in cancer is simply that it typically develops later in life; longer life spans now mean that many people are living long enough to develop it. Many nineteenth century women who might have developed breast cancer later in life instead died from complications in childbirth, diphtheria, cholera, typhoid....

[Rocky]

Looking at death records from the nineteenth century, breast cancer was not often listed as a cause or contribution to death...

According to McCullough, John Adams' daughter died of breast cancer.

[Rocky]

Bisphenol A current uses are numerous. It is a key monomer in production of polycarbonate plastic and epoxy resins. Otherwise it is used in the following polymer types: polyesters, polysulfones, and polyether ketones. Bisphenol A is also used as an antioxidant in plasticizers and as a polymerization inhibitor in PVC.

From Wikipedia.