Researchers from the ibs.GRANADA confirm that a contaminant present in fatty foods increases the risk of cancer
An international study in which the A-15 Basic and Clinical Oncology group of the Biosanitary Research Institute participates has shown that exposure to a chemical contaminant called PCB-153 is associated with the risk of cancer in men. This compound, banned in Spain since the 80s, is still present in many foods rich in fat, such as large fatty fish (tuna, salmon or swordfish), due to its high resistance to degradation, reported today the University of Granada in a note.
Various institutions included in the ibs.GRANADA Biosanitary Research Institute participate in this work, including the University, the University Hospital Complex of Granada and the Andalusian School of Public Health, as well as a researcher from the Bispebjerg University Hospital (Denmark). According to the lead author of the study, Juan Pedro Arrebola, from the Biosanitary Research Institute, today there is a growing trend in the incidence of various types of cancer, "partly attributed to the influence of environmental factors such as exposure to certain chemical contaminants." .
The objective of this study was to analyze whether exposure to certain chemical pollutants, accumulated over time, could be related to the risk of developing cancer. To do this, the scientists analyzed the accumulated levels of a group of pollutants in the fat of 368 adult men and women, residents of the province of Granada, and collected the incidence of cancer throughout the nine years after recruitment.
"After that time we found that, among men, cumulative exposure to a contaminant called PCB-153 was positively associated with cancer risk," he said. PCB-153, explains the researcher, belongs to a group of chemical compounds called Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs), which were widely used in various industrial applications, including electrical transformers, industrial condensers, hydraulic systems, or pesticides, and even as components of plastic material.
Although their use was banned in Spain during the 80s, these compounds are still present both in the environment and in most people due to their high resistance to degradation, as well as in obsolete equipment. It is estimated that fatty foods are the main route of exposure to PCBs in the general population, so high levels of this component could be, in part, indicators of a diet rich in fat, says the researcher.
It is also suspected that PCBs could cause cancer through various mechanisms, including their interaction with hormone receptors for estrogens and androgens, the production of free radicals or with DNA. The research group will continue to follow up on this group of people to see if the preliminary results are maintained after a longer follow-up time.