Fetal exposure to bisphenol A or BPA can boost the risk for prostate cancer later in life, finds study published online in the journal Endocrinology.
![BPA Increases Risk of Cancer in Human Prostate Tissue: Study BPA Increases Risk of Cancer in Human Prostate Tissue: Study](https://www.medindia.net/afp/images/US-health-chemical-BPA-40296.jpg)
"Previous studies have shown that people who avoided all contact with plastics or other BPA-containing objects for up to a month or more still had BPA in their urine, which means they must have come into contact with BPA in the last 24 to 48 hours, since it clears the body rather quickly," said Prins, who is director of the UIC andrology laboratory. "It's very hard to avoid."
Exposure of the fetus to BPA in utero is of particular concern, because the chemical, which mimics the hormone estrogen, has been linked to several kinds of cancer, including prostate cancer, in rodent models. The new findings show that human prostate tissue is also susceptible.
"Our research provides the first direct evidence that exposure to BPA during development, at the levels we see in our day-to-day lives, increases the risk for prostate cancer in human prostate tissue," Prins said. "The findings of adverse effects of BPA in human tissue are highly relevant and should encourage agencies like the Food & Drug Administration to re-evaluate their policies in the near future."
Prins investigated the effect of BPA on human cells by implanting human prostate stem cells taken from deceased young-adult men into mice. Prostate stem cells are very long-lived. They arise during early fetal development and produce and maintain a man's prostate tissue throughout his life.
To mimic exposure to BPA during embryonic development, for two weeks following implantation the mice were fed BPA -- in amounts in line with those seen in pregnant American women -- as the cells produced humanized prostate tissue.
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After the tissue was allowed to mature for one month, the mice were given estrogen to mimic the naturally rising estrogen levels seen in aging men. This rise in estrogen later in life is one of the known drivers of prostate cancer.
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"We believe that BPA actually reprograms the stem cells to be more sensitive to estrogen throughout life, leading to a life-long increased susceptibility to diseases including cancer," Prins said.
Source-Eurekalert