Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals and Human Cancer

Several epidemiologic studies have demonstrated a significant increase in the incidence of prostate, breast, endometrial, and testicular cancer in humans during the past 50 years. A large body of evidence demonstrates that human exposure to highly prevalent environmental chemicals with hormonal function may be closely associated with an increase in cancer risk. To deal with several possible mechanisms of endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), many experimental and epidemiological studies have been performed. EDCs are present in numerous places in environment, such as in food and water (through the use of pesticides) as well as in cosmetics, plastics, and other products used daily at home. Experimental models have been proposed to establish a link between exposure to EDCs and cancer development and to understand possible mechanisms of EDCs. Based on scientific papers published, EDCs were shown to produce a wide variety of endocrine-disruption effects, including developmental disorders, carcinogenicity, and mutagenicity in animal experiments. Moreover, the adverse effects of EDCs may include alterations in immunity, fertility, and neurobehavior.