Top

Reviews in Endocrine and Metabolic Disorders

Published in:

Open Access 01-12-2015

Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) and female cancer: Informing the patients

Author: Dominik Rachoń

Published in: Reviews in Endocrine and Metabolic Disorders | Issue 4/2015

Abstract

Breast and uterine cancer are the most frequent female gender related neoplasms whose growth is mostly estrogen dependent. Therefore, any EDC exhibiting estrogenic effects may increase the risk of these two malignancies. This review focuses on the potential role of EDCs with estrogenic potential on the risk of breast and uterine neoplasms but also points to the possible role of the exposure to EDCs in the pathogenesis of ovarian and cervical cancer. It also underlines the necessity of informing the public about the presence of EDCs in common consumer products, their detrimental health effects and methods of reducing the exposure risk.

Diamanti-Kandarakis E, Bourguignon JP, Giudice LC, Hauser R, Prins GS, Soto AM, et al. Endocrine-disrupting chemicals: an Endocrine Society scientific statement. Endocr Rev. 2009;30(4):293–342. doi:10.1210/er.2009-0002.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

Gore AC, Chappell VA, Fenton SE, Flaws JA, Nadal A, Prins GS, et al. Executive summary to EDC-2: the endocrine Society’s second scientific statement on endocrine-disrupting chemicals. Endocr Rev. 2015;36(6):593–602. doi:10.1210/er.2015-1093.CrossRefPubMed

Rachoń D, Vortherms T, Seidlovà-Wuttke D, Wuttke W. Dietary daidzein and puerarin do not affect pituitary LH expression but exert uterotropic effects in ovariectomized rats. Maturitas. 2007;57(2):161–70. doi:10.1016/j.maturitas.2006.12.003.CrossRefPubMed

Rachoń D, Vortherms T, Seidlovà-Wuttke D, Wuttke W. Effects of dietary equol on the pituitary of the ovariectomized rats. Horm Metab Res. 2007;39(4):256–61. doi:10.1055/s-2007-973074.

Diamanti-Kandarakis E, Palioura E, Kandarakis SA, Koutsilieris M. The impact of endocrine disruptors on endocrine targets. Horm Metab Res = Hormon- und Stoffwechselforschung = Hormones et metabolisme. 2010;42(8):543–52. doi:10.1055/s-0030-1252034.CrossRefPubMed

Crews D, McLachlan JA. Epigenetics, evolution, endocrine disruption, health, and disease. Endocrinology. 2006;147(6 Suppl):S4–S10. doi:10.1210/en.2005-1122.CrossRefPubMed

Key TJ. Hormones and cancer in humans. Mutat Res. 1995;333(1-2):59–67.CrossRefPubMed

Thaxton L, Waxman AG. Cervical cancer prevention: immunization and screening 2015. Med Clin North Am. 2015;99(3):469–77. doi:10.1016/j.mcna.2015.01.003.CrossRefPubMed

Dodds E, Lawson W. Synthetic estrogenic agents without the phenanthrene nucleus. Nature. 1936;137(3476):996.CrossRef

10.

Konieczna A, Rutkowska A, Rachoń D. Health risk of exposure to Bisphenol A (BPA). Rocz Panstw Zakl Hig. 2015;66(1):5–11.PubMed

11.

Hanaoka T, Kawamura N, Hara K, Tsugane S. Urinary bisphenol A and plasma hormone concentrations in male workers exposed to bisphenol A diglycidyl ether and mixed organic solvents. Occup Environ Med. 2002;59(9):625–8.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

12.

Cooper JE, Kendig EL, Belcher SM. Assessment of bisphenol A released from reusable plastic, aluminium and stainless steel water bottles. Chemosphere. 2011;85(6):943–7. doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2011.06.060.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

13.

Ma R, Sassoon DA. PCBs exert an estrogenic effect through repression of the Wnt7a signaling pathway in the female reproductive tract. Environ Health Perspect. 2006;114(6):898–904.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

14.

Wetherill YB, Akingbemi BT, Kanno J, McLachlan JA, Nadal A, Sonnenschein C, et al. In vitro molecular mechanisms of bisphenol A action. Reprod Toxicol. 2007;24(2):178–98. doi:10.1016/j.reprotox.2007.05.010.CrossRefPubMed

15.

Matthews JB, Twomey K, Zacharewski TR. In vitro and in vivo interactions of bisphenol A and its metabolite, bisphenol A glucuronide, with estrogen receptors alpha and beta. Chem Res Toxicol. 2001;14(2):149–57.CrossRefPubMed

16.

Welshons WV, Nagel SC, vom Saal FS. Large effects from small exposures. III. Endocrine mechanisms mediating effects of bisphenol A at levels of human exposure. Endocrinology. 2006;147(6 Suppl):S56–69. doi:10.1210/en.2005-1159.CrossRefPubMed

17.

Leranth C, Hajszan T, Szigeti-Buck K, Bober J, MacLusky NJ. Bisphenol A prevents the synaptogenic response to estradiol in hippocampus and prefrontal cortex of ovariectomized nonhuman primates. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2008;105(37):14187–91. doi:10.1073/pnas.0806139105.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

18.

Boucher JG, Boudreau A, Atlas E. Bisphenol A induces differentiation of human preadipocytes in the absence of glucocorticoid and is inhibited by an estrogen-receptor antagonist. Nutr Diabetes. 2014;4:e102. doi:10.1038/nutd.2013.43.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

19.

Brieno-Enriquez MA, Reig-Viader R, Cabero L, Toran N, Martinez F, Roig I, et al. Gene expression is altered after bisphenol A exposure in human fetal oocytes in vitro. Mol Hum Reprod. 2012;18(4):171–83. doi:10.1093/molehr/gar074.CrossRefPubMed

20.

Richter CA, Taylor JA, Ruhlen RL, Welshons WV, Vom Saal FS. Estradiol and Bisphenol A stimulate androgen receptor and estrogen receptor gene expression in fetal mouse prostate mesenchyme cells. Environ Health Perspect. 2007;115(6):902–8. doi:10.1289/ehp.9804.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

21.

Melzer D, Harries L, Cipelli R, Henley W, Money C, McCormack P, et al. Bisphenol A exposure is associated with in vivo estrogenic gene expression in adults. Environ Health Perspect. 2011;119(12):1788–93. doi:10.1289/ehp.1103809.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

22.

Lee HJ, Chattopadhyay S, Gong EY, Ahn RS, Lee K. Antiandrogenic effects of bisphenol A and nonylphenol on the function of androgen receptor. Toxicol Sci: Off J Soc Toxicol. 2003;75(1):40–6. doi:10.1093/toxsci/kfg150.CrossRef

23.

Wetherill YB, Petre CE, Monk KR, Puga A, Knudsen KE. The xenoestrogen bisphenol A induces inappropriate androgen receptor activation and mitogenesis in prostatic adenocarcinoma cells. Mol Cancer Ther. 2002;1(7):515–24.PubMed

24.

Zoeller RT, Bansal R, Parris C. Bisphenol-A, an environmental contaminant that acts as a thyroid hormone receptor antagonist in vitro, increases serum thyroxine, and alters RC3/neurogranin expression in the developing rat brain. Endocrinology. 2005;146(2):607–12. doi:10.1210/en.2004-1018.CrossRefPubMed

25.

Riu A, Grimaldi M, le Maire A, Bey G, Phillips K, Boulahtouf A, et al. Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma is a target for halogenated analogs of bisphenol A. Environ Health Perspect. 2011;119(9):1227–32. doi:10.1289/ehp.1003328.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

26.

Fenichel P, Chevalier N, Brucker-Davis F. Bisphenol A: an endocrine and metabolic disruptor. Ann Endocrinol. 2013;74(3):211–20. doi:10.1016/j.ando.2013.04.002.CrossRef

27.

Rochester JR. Bisphenol A, and human health: a review of the literature. Reprod Toxicol. 2013;42:132–55. doi:10.1016/j.reprotox.2013.08.008.CrossRefPubMed

28.

Mori T, Nagasawa H, Bern HA. Long-term effects of perinatal exposure to hormones on normal and neoplastic mammary growth in rodents: a review. J Environ Pathol Toxicol. 1979;3(1-2):191–205.PubMed

29.

Albini A, Rosano C, Angelini G, Amaro A, Esposito AI, Maramotti S, et al. Exogenous hormonal regulation in breast cancer cells by phytoestrogens and endocrine disruptors. Curr Med Chem. 2014;21(9):1129–45.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

30.

Crain DA, Janssen SJ, Edwards TM, Heindel J, Ho SM, Hunt P, et al. Female reproductive disorders: the roles of endocrine-disrupting compounds and developmental timing. Fertil Steril. 2008;90(4):911–40. doi:10.1016/j.fertnstert.2008.08.067.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

31.

Hanahan D, Weinberg RA. Hallmarks of cancer: the next generation. Cell. 2011;144(5):646–74. doi:10.1016/j.cell.2011.02.013.CrossRefPubMed

32.

Soto AM, Sonnenschein C. The tissue organization field theory of cancer: a testable replacement for the somatic mutation theory. BioEssays: News Rev Mol Cell Dev Biol. 2011;33(5):332–40. doi:10.1002/bies.201100025.CrossRef

33.

Sternlicht MD, Kouros-Mehr H, Lu P, Werb Z. Hormonal and local control of mammary branching morphogenesis. Differentiation: Res Biol Divers. 2006;74(7):365–81. doi:10.1111/j.1432-0436.2006.00105.x.CrossRef

34.

Wadia PR, Cabaton NJ, Borrero MD, Rubin BS, Sonnenschein C, Shioda T, et al. Low-dose BPA exposure alters the mesenchymal and epithelial transcriptomes of the mouse fetal mammary gland. PLoS One. 2013;8(5):e63902. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0063902.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

35.

Lemmen JG, Broekhof JL, Kuiper GG, Gustafsson J-Å, van der Saag PT, van der Burg B. Expression of estrogen receptor alpha and beta during mouse embryogenesis. Mech Dev. 1999;81(1):163–7.CrossRefPubMed

36.

Vandenberg LN, Hauser R, Marcus M, Olea N, Welshons WV. Human exposure to bisphenol A (BPA). Reprod Toxicol. 2007;24(2):139–77. doi:10.1016/j.reprotox.2007.07.010.CrossRefPubMed

37.

Keri RA, Ho SM, Hunt PA, Knudsen KE, Soto AM, Prins GS. An evaluation of evidence for the carcinogenic activity of bisphenol A. Reprod Toxicol. 2007;24(2):240–52. doi:10.1016/j.reprotox.2007.06.008.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

38.

Gao H, Yang BJ, Li N, Feng LM, Shi XY, Zhao WH, et al. Bisphenol A and hormone-associated cancers: current progress and perspectives. Medicine. 2015;94(1):e211. doi:10.1097/MD.0000000000000211.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

39.

Seachrist DD, Bonk KW, Ho SM, Prins GS, Soto AM, Keri RA. A review of the carcinogenic potential of bisphenol A. Reprod Toxicol. 2015. doi:10.1016/j.reprotox.2015.09.006.PubMed

40.

Paulose T, Speroni L, Sonnenschein C, Soto AM. Estrogens in the wrong place at the wrong time: Fetal BPA exposure and mammary cancer. Reprod Toxicol. 2015;54:58–65. doi:10.1016/j.reprotox.2014.09.012.CrossRefPubMed

41.

Aschengrau A, Coogan PF, Quinn M, Cashins LJ. Occupational exposure to estrogenic chemicals and the occurrence of breast cancer: an exploratory analysis. Am J Ind Med. 1998;34(1):6–14.CrossRefPubMed

42.

Yang M, Ryu JH, Jeon R, Kang D, Yoo KY. Effects of bisphenol A on breast cancer and its risk factors. Arch Toxicol. 2009;83(3):281–5. doi:10.1007/s00204-008-0364-0.CrossRefPubMed

43.

Arrebola JP, Belhassen H, Artacho-Cordon F, Ghali R, Ghorbel H, Boussen H, et al. Risk of female breast cancer and serum concentrations of organochlorine pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls: a case-control study in Tunisia. Sci Total Environ. 2015;520:106–13. doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2015.03.045.CrossRefPubMed

44.

Liu R, Nelson DO, Hurley S, Hertz A, Reynolds P. Residential exposure to estrogen disrupting hazardous air pollutants and breast cancer risk: the California Teachers Study. Epidemiology. 2015;26(3):365–73. doi:10.1097/EDE.0000000000000277.CrossRefPubMed

45.

Cohn BA, La Merrill M, Krigbaum NY, Yeh G, Park JS, Zimmermann L, et al. DDT exposure in utero and breast cancer. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2015;100(8):2865–72. doi:10.1210/jc.2015-1841.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

46.

Hiroi H, Tsutsumi O, Takeuchi T, Momoeda M, Ikezuki Y, Okamura A, et al. Differences in serum bisphenol a concentrations in premenopausal normal women and women with endometrial hyperplasia. Endocr J. 2004;51(6):595–600.CrossRefPubMed

47.

Sturgeon SR, Brock JW, Potischman N, Needham LL, Rothman N, Brinton LA, et al. Serum concentrations of organochlorine compounds and endometrial cancer risk (United States). Cancer Causes Control: CCC. 1998;9(4):417–24.CrossRefPubMed

48.

Goodman MT, Wilkens LR, Hankin JH, Lyu LC, Wu AH, Kolonel LN. Association of soy and fiber consumption with the risk of endometrial cancer. Am J Epidemiol. 1997;146(4):294–306.CrossRefPubMed

49.

Horn-Ross PL, John EM, Canchola AJ, Stewart SL, Lee MM. Phytoestrogen intake and endometrial cancer risk. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2003;95(15):1158–64.CrossRefPubMed

50.

Rachoń D, Vortherms T, Seidlovà-Wuttke D, Menche A, Wuttke W. Uterotropic effects of dietary equol administration in ovariectomized Sprague-Dawley rats. Climacteric: J Int Menopause Soc. 2007;10(5):416–26. doi:10.1080/13697130701624757.CrossRef

51.

Unfer V, Casini ML, Costabile L, Mignosa M, Gerli S, Di Renzo GC. Endometrial effects of long-term treatment with phytoestrogens: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Fertil Steril. 2004;82(1):145–8. doi:10.1016/j.fertnstert.2003.11.041. quiz 265.CrossRefPubMed

52.

Stoll BA. Western diet, early puberty, and breast cancer risk. Breast Cancer Res Treat. 1998;49(3):187–93.CrossRefPubMed

53.

Yager JD, Davidson NE. Estrogen carcinogenesis in breast cancer. N Engl J Med. 2006;354(3):270–82. doi:10.1056/NEJMra050776.CrossRefPubMed

54.

Vasiliu O, Muttineni J, Karmaus W. In utero exposure to organochlorines and age at menarche. Hum Reprod. 2004;19(7):1506–12. doi:10.1093/humrep/deh292.CrossRefPubMed

55.

McGuinn LA, Ghazarian AA, Joseph Su L, Ellison GL. Urinary bisphenol A and age at menarche among adolescent girls: evidence from NHANES 2003-2010. Environ Res. 2015;136:381–6. doi:10.1016/j.envres.2014.10.037.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

56.

Rutkowska A, Rachoń D. Bisphenol A (BPA) and its potential role in the pathogenesis of the polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Gynecol Endocrinol: Off J Int Soc Gynecol Endocrinol. 2014;30(4):260–5. doi:10.3109/09513590.2013.871517.CrossRef

57.

Shen CC, Yang AC, Hung JH, Hu LY, Tsai SJ. A nationwide population-based retrospective cohort study of the risk of uterine, ovarian and breast cancer in women with polycystic ovary syndrome. Oncologist. 2015;20(1):45–9. doi:10.1634/theoncologist.2014-0311.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

58.

Gottschau M, Kjaer SK, Jensen A, Munk C, Mellemkjaer L. Risk of cancer among women with polycystic ovary syndrome: a Danish cohort study. Gynecol Oncol. 2015;136(1):99–103. doi:10.1016/j.ygyno.2014.11.012.CrossRefPubMed

59.

Cooper R, Hardy R, Kuh D. Is adiposity across life associated with subsequent hysterectomy risk? Findings from the 1946 British birth cohort study. BJOG. 2008;115(2):184–92. doi:10.1111/j.1471-0528.2007.01569.x. discussion 92.CrossRefPubMed

60.

Key TJ, Appleby PN, Reeves GK, Roddam A, Dorgan JF, Longcope C, et al. Body mass index, serum sex hormones, and breast cancer risk in postmenopausal women. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2003;95(16):1218–26.CrossRefPubMed

61.

Wang X, Simpson ER, Brown KA. Aromatase overexpression in dysfunctional adipose tissue links obesity to postmenopausal breast cancer. J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol. 2015;153:35–44. doi:10.1016/j.jsbmb.2015.07.008.CrossRefPubMed

62.

Halldorsson TI, Rytter D, Haug LS, Bech BH, Danielsen I, Becher G, et al. Prenatal exposure to perfluorooctanoate and risk of overweight at 20 years of age: a prospective cohort study. Environ Health Perspect. 2012;120(5):668–73. doi:10.1289/ehp.1104034.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

63.

Reaves DK, Ginsburg E, Bang JJ, Fleming JM. Persistent organic pollutants and obesity: are they potential mechanisms for breast cancer promotion? Endocr Relat Cancer. 2015;22(2):R69–86. doi:10.1530/ERC-14-0411.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

64.

Rubin BS, Soto AM. Bisphenol A: Perinatal exposure and body weight. Mol Cell Endocrinol. 2009;304(1-2):55–62. doi:10.1016/j.mce.2009.02.023.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

65.

Steinmetz R, Brown NG, Allen DL, Bigsby RM, Ben-Jonathan N. The environmental estrogen bisphenol A stimulates prolactin release in vitro and in vivo. Endocrinology. 1997;138(5):1780–6. doi:10.1210/endo.138.5.5132.PubMed

66.

Harvey PW. Hypothesis: prolactin is tumorigenic to human breast: dispelling the myth that prolactin-induced mammary tumors are rodent-specific. J Appl Toxicol: JAT. 2012;32(1):1–9. doi:10.1002/jat.1772.CrossRefPubMed

67.

Lee HJ, Ormandy CJ. Interplay between progesterone and prolactin in mammary development and implications for breast cancer. Mol Cell Endocrinol. 2012;357(1-2):101–7. doi:10.1016/j.mce.2011.09.020.CrossRefPubMed

68.

Brown SB, Hankinson SE. Endogenous estrogens and the risk of breast, endometrial, and ovarian cancers. Steroids. 2015;99(Pt A):8–10. doi:10.1016/j.steroids.2014.12.013.CrossRefPubMed

69.

Park SH, Kim KY, An BS, Choi JH, Jeung EB, Leung PC, et al. Cell growth of ovarian cancer cells is stimulated by xenoestrogens through an estrogen-dependent pathway, but their stimulation of cell growth appears not to be involved in the activation of the mitogen-activated protein kinases ERK-1 and p38. J Reprod Dev. 2009;55(1):23–9.CrossRefPubMed

70.

Park MA, Hwang KA, Lee HR, Yi BR, Jeung EB, Choi KC. Benzophenone-1 stimulated the growth of BG-1 ovarian cancer cells by cell cycle regulation via an estrogen receptor alpha-mediated signaling pathway in cellular and xenograft mouse models. Toxicology. 2013;305:41–8. doi:10.1016/j.tox.2012.12.021.CrossRefPubMed

71.

Rachoń D, Rimoldi G, Wuttke W. In vitro effects of benzophenone-2 and octyl-methoxycinnamate on the production of interferon-gamma and interleukin-10 by murine splenocytes. Immunopharmacol Immunotoxicol. 2006;28(3):501–10. doi:10.1080/08923970600927751.CrossRefPubMed

72.

Hall JM, Korach KS. Endocrine disrupting chemicals promote the growth of ovarian cancer cells via the ER-CXCL12-CXCR4 signaling axis. Mol Carcinog. 2013;52(9):715–25. doi:10.1002/mc.21913.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

73.

Tomao F, Lo Russo G, Spinelli GP, Stati V, Prete AA, Prinzi N, et al. Fertility drugs, reproductive strategies and ovarian cancer risk. J Ovarian Res. 2014;7:51. doi:10.1186/1757-2215-7-51.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

74.

Barclay DL. Congenital diethylstilbestrol-associated vaginal/cervical adenosis (DES babies). J Ark Med Soc. 1979;75(12):451–2.PubMed

75.

Ma XF, Zhang J, Shuai HL, Guan BZ, Luo X, Yan RL. IKKbeta/NF-kappaB mediated the low doses of bisphenol A induced migration of cervical cancer cells. Arch Biochem Biophys. 2015;573:52–8. doi:10.1016/j.abb.2015.03.010.CrossRefPubMed

76.

Genuis SJ. Health issues and the environment--an emerging paradigm for providers of obstetrical and gynaecological health care. Hum Reprod. 2006;21(9):2201–8. doi:10.1093/humrep/del181.CrossRefPubMed

77.

Rutkowska A, Rachoń D, Milewicz A, Ruchała M, Bolanowski M, Jędrzejuk D, et al. Polish Society of Endocrinology Position statement on endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs). Endokrynol Pol. 2015;66(3):276–81. doi:10.5603/EP.2015.0035.CrossRefPubMed

Title: Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) and female cancer: Informing the patients
Author: Dominik Rachoń
Publication date: 01-12-2015
Publisher: Springer US
Published in: Reviews in Endocrine and Metabolic Disorders / Issue 4/2015
Print ISSN: 1389-9155
Electronic ISSN: 1573-2606
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11154-016-9332-9

Live Webinar | 27-06-2024 | 18:00 (CEST)

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on medication adherence

Reserve your place

Live: Thursday 27th June 2024, 18:00-19:30 (CEST)

WHO estimates that half of all patients worldwide are non-adherent to their prescribed medication. The consequences of poor adherence can be catastrophic, on both the individual and population level.

Join our expert panel to discover why you need to understand the drivers of non-adherence in your patients, and how you can optimize medication adherence in your clinics to drastically improve patient outcomes.

Prof. Kevin Dolgin

Prof. Florian Limbourg

Prof. Anoop Chauhan

Developed by: Springer Medicine

Obesity Clinical Trial Summary

At a glance: The STEP trials

A round-up of the STEP phase 3 clinical trials evaluating semaglutide for weight loss in people with overweight or obesity.

Developed by: Springer Medicine

2024 ASCO Annual Meeting

Springer Medicine

Abstract

Please log in to get access to this content

Other articles of this Issue 4/2015

Bisphenol A: Targeting metabolic tissues

Thyroid nodules and thyroid autoimmunity in the context of environmental pollution

Using systematic reviews for hazard and risk assessment of endocrine disrupting chemicals

Preface

Cosmetics as endocrine disruptors: are they a health risk?

Methodological issues in human studies of endocrine disrupting chemicals

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on medication adherence

Live: Thursday 27th June 2024, 18:00-19:30 (CEST)

At a glance: The STEP trials