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Bisphenol A, or BPA, isn't formally recognized as a carcinogen but a new study suggests that the canned food and cash register receipt chemical could be linked to prostate cancer.
Cincinnati Cancer Center researchers found that levels of BPA in men's urine could help predict prostate cancer, along with evidence that the estrogen-like chemical could cause abnormal changes in both cancerous and non-cancerous prostate cells, likely the result of disrupting a cell duplication cycle.
The study, published in the journal PLOS ONE, looked at PSA levels in 60 patients using urine samples. The urine from prostate cancer patients contained higher levels of BPA compared to patients without prostate cancer, particularly in people younger than 65 years old.
Looking at prostate cells, researchers found low doses of BPA increased the percentage of cells centrosome amplification two- to eight-fold. (This abnormal cell reproduction is detected in more and more cancers.)
These new findings come less than two months after University of Illinois at Chicago researchers found that BPA causes prostate cancer in tests conducted on human prostate tissue.
Today, BPA is one of the most tested of the more than 80,000 chemicals on the market. Despite hundreds of animal studies—and dozens of human studies—showing serious harm, it's still allowed in things like polycarbonate (No. 7) plastic containers, cash register receipts, the lining of canned foods and drinks, and even some personal care products.
A recent pair of studies links BPA to heart problems and abnormal changes in the brain, uterus, and mammary glands. Another 2014 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found people readily absorb BPA from cash register receipts through the skin.
To protect yourself, choose fresh or frozen food whenever possible, say no to trivial receipts and store the ones you need immediately, and avoid eating or drinking from plastic containers.
Cincinnati Cancer Center researchers found that levels of BPA in men's urine could help predict prostate cancer, along with evidence that the estrogen-like chemical could cause abnormal changes in both cancerous and non-cancerous prostate cells, likely the result of disrupting a cell duplication cycle.
The study, published in the journal PLOS ONE, looked at PSA levels in 60 patients using urine samples. The urine from prostate cancer patients contained higher levels of BPA compared to patients without prostate cancer, particularly in people younger than 65 years old.
Looking at prostate cells, researchers found low doses of BPA increased the percentage of cells centrosome amplification two- to eight-fold. (This abnormal cell reproduction is detected in more and more cancers.)
These new findings come less than two months after University of Illinois at Chicago researchers found that BPA causes prostate cancer in tests conducted on human prostate tissue.
Today, BPA is one of the most tested of the more than 80,000 chemicals on the market. Despite hundreds of animal studies—and dozens of human studies—showing serious harm, it's still allowed in things like polycarbonate (No. 7) plastic containers, cash register receipts, the lining of canned foods and drinks, and even some personal care products.
A recent pair of studies links BPA to heart problems and abnormal changes in the brain, uterus, and mammary glands. Another 2014 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found people readily absorb BPA from cash register receipts through the skin.
To protect yourself, choose fresh or frozen food whenever possible, say no to trivial receipts and store the ones you need immediately, and avoid eating or drinking from plastic containers.
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