Association of Serum Levels of Plasticizers Compounds, Phthalates and Bisphenols, in Patients and Survivors of Breast Cancer: A Real Connection?

Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Jun 30;19(13):8040. doi: 10.3390/ijerph19138040.

Abstract

Phthalates and bisphenols are ubiquitous environmental pollutants with the ability to perturb different systems. Specifically, they can alter the endocrine system, and this is why they are also known as endocrine-disrupting compounds (EDCs). Interestingly, they are related to the development and progression of breast cancer (BC), but the threshold concentrations at which they trigger that are not well established.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to compare the concentration measures of parent EDCs in three groups of women (without BC, with BC, and BC survivors) from two urban populations in Mexico, to establish a possible association between EDCs and this disease. We consider the measure of the parent compounds would reflect the individual's exposure.

Methods: The levels of di-ethyl-hexyl-phthalate (DEHP), butyl-benzyl-phthalate (BBP), di-n-butyl phthalate (DBP) and di-ethyl-phthalate (DEP), bisphenol A (BPA) and bisphenol S (BPS) were determined by gas chromatograph-mass spectrometry in 102 subjects, including 37 women without any pathological disease, 46 patients with BC and 19 women survivals of BC of Mexico and Toluca City.

Results: All phthalates were detected in 100% of women, two of them were significantly higher in patients with different BC subtypes in Mexico City. Differential increases were observed mainly in the serum concentration of phthalates in women with BC compared to women without disease between Mexico and Toluca City. In addition, when performing an analysis of the concentrations of phthalates by molecular type of BC, DEP and BBP were found mainly in aggressive and poorly differentiated types of BC. It should be noted that female BC survivors treated with anti-hormonal therapy showed lower levels of BBP than patients with BC. BPA and BPS were found in most samples from Mexico City. However, BPS was undetectable in women from Toluca City.

Discussion: The results of our study support the hypothesis of a positive association between exposure to phthalates and BC incidence.

Keywords: bisphenols; breast cancer; endocrine-disrupting compounds; phthalates; serum levels.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Benzhydryl Compounds / analysis
  • Breast Neoplasms* / epidemiology
  • Endocrine Disruptors*
  • Environmental Exposure / analysis
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Phenols
  • Phthalic Acids* / analysis
  • Plasticizers / analysis
  • Survivors

Substances

  • Benzhydryl Compounds
  • Endocrine Disruptors
  • Phenols
  • Phthalic Acids
  • Plasticizers
  • bisphenol A

Grants and funding

Grant FC2016-2125 from Fronteras en la Ciencia, Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONACYT) to Jorge Morales Montor. Grant IN-218922 from Programa de Apoyo a Proyectos de Innovación Tecnológica (PAPIIT), Dirección General de Asuntos del Personal Académico (DGAPA), Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) to Karen Elizabeth Nava-Castro. The authors thank División de Investigación de la Facultad de Medicina, UNAM for the financial support granted. Grant 4755/2019 CIB from Secretaría de Investigación y Estudios Avanzados-UAEMEX.