Low-dose exposure to BPA could increase prostate cancer risk

Tuesday, January 21, 2014 by: L.J. Devon, Staff Writer
Tags: BPA, prostate cancer, low-dose exposure

(NaturalNews) New, eye-opening research on the negative effects of BPA chemicals on prostate health is emerging. After assessing the study of BPA on human stem cells, one researcher, Heather Patisaul from North Carolina State University says, "Overall I think this is some of the strongest and most convincing evidence to date linking early life BPA exposure and cancer."

Patisaul, who was not involved in the research, reiterates the importance of this eye-opening study, saying, "They were careful to make the exposures human relevant, used cells derived from healthy humans and replicated physiological conditions seen in aging men."

Bisphenol A prevalent in modern society

The study, based on a model that uses implanted human stem cells, is the first of its kind to link early life BPA exposure to an increased incidence of prostate cancer in aging men.

Bisphenol A, which is a known endocrine-disrupting chemical found in many modern day products, was found to alter cells even at low doses. Bisphenol A is found in the lining of some food cans, is used in the manufacture of polycarbonate plastics and can even be found in some paper receipts. It can also be found lurking in dental sealants, where it can directly enter the body as it wears away in the teeth.

A previous study documented that 90 percent of Americans have traces of BPA in their blood. Other studies suggest that BPA has reached levels of "universal fetal exposure."

Getting honest about prostate cancer causes

Since prostate cancer now ranks as the second leading cause of cancer-related death in U.S. men, it's becoming increasingly important to understand from where these cancers derive. The National Cancer Institute now reports that about 15 percent of men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime. With these statistics growing, it's time to isolate the endocrine-disrupting causes and remove them from manufacture. Throwing a pharmaceutical drug at prostate cancer isn't dealing with the root causes. The causes are in our everyday products like the lining of canned foods. These invisible synthetics break down, sneak into our environment and make their way into our bodies and blood, where they manipulate cells and throw off the natural balance of hormones.

The new, eye-opening study on BPA causing prostate cancer

A team of researchers from the University of Illinois, Chicago, used prostate stem cells from deceased young men and implanted them into mice. A group of mice were then given a diet of low BPA for the first two weeks of their young life. The stem cells of another group were exposed to BPA before and after implantation into mice. Another group of mice were not given any BPA amounts.

The researchers studied the implanted human stem cells as the mice aged. The group exposed for the first two weeks of their lives showed a high incidence of cancerous and precancerous lesions later in life. In fact, 33 percent of the stem cells were found to be cancerous!

The stem cells exposed to BPA before and after implantation showed even higher levels of developed cancerous lesions. 45 percent of these stem cells were cancerous!

When the researchers looked at the non-exposed group, they only found that 12 percent of the stem cells were precancerous.

Lead researcher Gail Prins cited a 2013 study on Californian women to support his research and validate the levels of BPA used in the mice experiment as equal to amounts measured in humans. "Twenty minutes after exposure, the levels of BPA measured in the blood of the animals that were the hosts bearing the transplants were exactly what we're seeing measured in the umbilical cord fluid of women," he said.

How does BPA make cells cancerous?

Bisphenol A has been shown to act as an estrogen in the human body. This synthetic estrogen elevates estrogen levels in men and women, throwing off people's natural balance of hormones. This ultimately affects cells. Altered hormone levels can eventually influence thinking and mating habits. Elevated estrogen levels, due to BPA, can also affect children in the womb. Links have been made between pregnant women's high estrogen levels and increased prostate cancer risk in male babies later in life.

BPA is essentially manipulating cells and playing with gender composition. Prins stated, "We know that stem cells help replenish our organs throughout life. We propose that if there is exposure early in life to an estrogenic compound - such as BPA - it reprograms our stem cells."

Prins continued, saying that early life exposure to BPA is sensitizing the prostate stem cells to estrogen, and the stem cells ultimately pass along this estrogen sensitivity to prostate tissues later in life.

This research is eye-opening in the field of epigenetics, as it links BPA chemicals to altered DNA sequencing in fetuses, which can then lead to diseases later in life. This estrogen imbalance and sensitivity also opens the door for shifting gender attributes.

Sources for this article include:

http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org

http://www.mprnews.org

http://www.plosone.org

http://science.naturalnews.com