More than a dozen chemicals used in weed killers like Roundup may increase the risk of prostate cancer, a shocking new study has found.
In a report published in the journal Cancer, researchers analyzed 300 pesticides and found that 22 were directly linked to the development of prostate cancer and four were shown to increase the probability of death.
The study comes after Bayer AG was ordered to pay $2.25 billion in January after a Pennsylvania jury unanimously ruled that its Roundup weed killer gave a man cancer.
In the new study, the researchers evaluated data on annual pesticide use between 1997 and 2001, as well as between 2003 and 2006. Taking into account the slow increase in the development of prostate cancer, they then compared those numbers with diagnoses I did it between 2011 and 2015 and between 2016 and 2020, respectively.
The team said 19 of the 22 pesticides linked to an increased risk of prostate cancer had not previously been linked to the disease.
Four of the 22 pesticides – trifluralin, cloransulam-methyl, thiamethoxam and diflufenzopyr – were linked to an increased likelihood of dying from prostate cancer.
Dr. Simon John Christoph Soerensen, the study’s lead author and a prostate cancer expert at Stanford University, noted that his team’s observational research cannot prove causality. However, he hopes the results could “potentially explain” some of the “geographic variation” in prostate cancer diagnoses and deaths across the US.
“Building on these findings, we can work towards reducing the number of men affected by this disease,” he said.
Prostate cancer is driving a cancer epidemic, with 10% of new diagnoses in the US occurring in men under the age of 55 and prostate cancer deaths expected to increase by 136% from 2022 to 2050.
Prostate cancer is the second most common form of male cancer after skin cancer. According to the American Cancer Society, prostate cancer is usually not fatal — in part because it’s usually slow-growing, often low-grade, and there are many treatment options available.
According to the National Institutes of Health, an estimated one in eight men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer, but only one in 39 (or 2.6%) will die from it.
As with all cancers, early detection and early-stage treatment are critical to survival.
Treatment for prostate cancer includes surgery, chemotherapy, immunotherapy, radiation, or targeted drug therapy.
Located below the bladder, the primary function of the prostate gland is to produce and ejaculate sperm.
Prostate problems can manifest as urinary symptoms, including an urgent need to urinate and/or difficulty starting a steam, poor flow, or straining.
In addition to urinary symptoms, the presence of blood in the urine or semen should be addressed immediately with a doctor. Signs that advanced prostate cancer has spread include bone and back pain, weight loss, testicular pain, and loss of appetite.
Pesticides like those observed in this recent study are used as agricultural support to maintain crops, kill weeds, and manage insect and parasite infestations.
According to the Daily Mail, pesticide consumption has increased nearly 60 percent since 1990, reaching 5.86 billion pounds. by 2020. Pesticides are a general term for chemicals that include herbicides, which are used specifically to kill weeds.
The compound – the most widely used weed killer in the US – is said to contain 41% of the herbicide glyphosate, a known endocrine disruptor.
Endocine disruptors interfere with hormonal systems, causing side effects such as infertility, birth defects, developmental disorders and increased risk of cancer.
The summary also includes 2,4-dichloroacetic acid, also known as 2,4-D. Animal studies have linked exposure to 2,4-D during pregnancy to lower body weight and behavioral problems in the offspring. Separate research has established a link between exposure to 2,4-D and an increased risk of lymphoma, as well as kidney and liver damage.
Monsanto and its owner Bayer AG, the makers of Roundup, have repeatedly denied these dangers and assured the public that their products pose no threat to human health.
However, earlier this year, Bayer AG was ordered to pay $2.25 billion after a jury in Pennsylvania unanimously ruled that the weed killer Roundup gave a man cancer.
John McKivinson, 49, who was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, sued Roundup maker Monsanto and its corporate parent, Bayer, saying he developed the cancer after using the herbicide on his property for two decades.
McKivinson’s attorneys at Kline & Specter previously told The Post that the massive payout includes $2 billion in damages.
Jurors also found that Monsanto was negligent in warning customers of the dangers of the Summary,
The jury’s verdict is “a declaration that her misconduct was in reckless disregard of human safety and a substantial cause of John McKivison’s cancer.”
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