Exploratory profiles of phenols, parabens, and per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances among NHANES study participants in association with previous cancer diagnoses.

Sep 18, 2023

Experts: Amber L Cathey,Vy K Nguyen,Justin A Colacino,Tracey J Woodruff,Peggy Reynolds,Max T Aung

Some hormonally active cancers have low survival rates, but a large proportion of their incidence remains unexplained. Endocrine disrupting chemicals may affect hormone pathways in the pathology of these cancers.
To evaluate cross-sectional associations between per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), phenols, and parabens and self-reported previous cancer diagnoses in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES).
We extracted concentrations of 7 PFAS and 12 phenols/parabens and self-reported diagnoses of melanoma and cancers of the thyroid, breast, ovary, uterus, and prostate in men and women (≥20 years). Associations between previous cancer diagnoses and an interquartile range increase in exposure biomarkers were evaluated using logistic regression models adjusted for key covariates. We conceptualized race as social construct proxy of structural social factors and examined associations in non-Hispanic Black, Mexican American, and other Hispanic participants separately compared to White participants.
Previous melanoma in women was associated with higher PFDE (OR:2.07, 95% CI: 1.25, 3.43), PFNA (OR:1.72, 95% CI: 1.09, 2.73), PFUA (OR:1.76, 95% CI: 1.07, 2.89), BP3 (OR: 1.81, 95% CI: 1.10, 2.96), DCP25 (OR: 2.41, 95% CI: 1.22, 4.76), and DCP24 (OR: 1.85, 95% CI: 1.05, 3.26). Previous ovarian cancer was associated with higher DCP25 (OR: 2.80, 95% CI: 1.08, 7.27), BPA (OR: 1.93, 95% CI: 1.11, 3.35) and BP3 (OR: 1.76, 95% CI: 1.00, 3.09). Previous uterine cancer was associated with increased PFNA (OR: 1.55, 95% CI: 1.03, 2.34), while higher ethyl paraben was inversely associated (OR: 0.31, 95% CI: 0.12, 0.85). Various PFAS were associated with previous ovarian and uterine cancers in White women, while MPAH or BPF was associated with previous breast cancer among non-White women.
Biomarkers across all exposure categories (phenols, parabens, and per- and poly- fluoroalkyl substances) were cross-sectionally associated with increased odds of previous melanoma diagnoses in women, and increased odds of previous ovarian cancer was associated with several phenols and parabens. Some associations differed by racial group, which is particularly impactful given the established racial disparities in distributions of exposure to these chemicals. This is the first epidemiological study to investigate exposure to phenols in relation to previous cancer diagnoses, and the first NHANES study to explore racial/ethnic disparities in associations between environmental phenol, paraben, and PFAS exposures and historical cancer diagnosis.

© 2023. The Author(s).

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ABOUT THE EXPERTS

Amber L Cathey,Vy K Nguyen,Justin A Colacino,Tracey J Woodruff,Peggy Reynolds,Max T Aung

Amber L Cathey

Department of Environmental Health Sciences, University of Michigan, School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.

Vy K Nguyen

Department of Environmental Health Sciences, University of Michigan, School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.

Department of Biomedical Informatics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.

Justin A Colacino

Department of Environmental Health Sciences, University of Michigan, School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.

Tracey J Woodruff

Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.

Peggy Reynolds

Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.

Max T Aung

Department of Population and Public Health Sciences, University of Southern California, Keck School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA, USA. maxaung@usc.edu.