Phthalates in plastics, personal care products and food packaging can intensify breast tumors, according to a study published this month in Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety. The chemicals hijack the body’s hormone systems, activate cancer-promoting genes, and make tumors easier to form and harder to treat, the scientists said.
By Pamela Ferdinand
Common chemicals in plastics, personal care products, and food packaging may drive the onset, growth, and spread of breast cancer — the second-leading cause of cancer deaths in women, new research suggests.
Breast cancer is one of the most common and deadly cancers worldwide, causing more than 42,000 deaths in the U.S, with particularly high rates among Black women. Only 5-10% are inherited, meaning most arise from environmental and lifestyle factors.
The findings, published in September in Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety, suggest phthalates hijack the body’s hormone systems, activate cancer-promoting genes, make tumors easier to form and harder to treat.
The study raises new questions about the safety of chemicals that millions of Americans encounter every day in air, food and water.
“Phthalates are pervasive environmental toxicants that influence the initiation, progression and metastasis of breast cancer,” said the scientists, led by Dr. Michal Toborek at the University of Miami’s Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine.
“As a breast tumor progresses through the stages of disease–intensified by the effects of phthalate exposure on hormone activity, drug resistance, metabolic dysfunction, and cancer cell stemness–the tumor and its surrounding microenvironment become more aggressive, ultimately leading to possibly fatal outcomes.”
The review also points to stark regulatory contrasts: The European Union (EU) has restricted several phthalates under its REACH framework.
Meanwhile, the U.S. has banned only a handful in children’s toys and still allows phthalates in most food packaging and personal care products. Phthalates may also be an undisclosed component of artificial fragrance.
