A study cautions that common synthetic chemicals found in food packaging and some utensils may quadruple the risk of cancer.
Researchers at the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles discovered that ‘forever chemicals’ enhance the risk of non-viral hepatocellular carcinoma, a common liver cancer.
Those with the highest reported exposure to man-made toxins were up to 4.5 times more likely to be diagnosed with the condition than those with the lowest exposure.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warn that these chemicals are ubiquitous, including in nonstick cookware, tap water, seafood, waterproof clothing, cleaning goods, and shampoo.
This work is part of a growing corpus of studies demonstrating the risk of these chemicals, which were mostly unknown until very recently.
In June, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reduced the allowable threshold of lead in household items by 99.9 percent.
Experts fear that the damage may have already been done and that in the future, many Americans may experience major health difficulties.
Perfluooctane sulfate, sometimes known as PFOS, is a per- and polyfluoroalkyl compound known as a PFAS.
Experts refer to them as “forever chemicals” since it can take years for them to break down in the body or environment.
Dr. Jesse Goodrich, a postdoctoral scholar at USC, said in a statement, “Liver cancer is one of the most devastating outcomes of liver illness, and this is the first study in people to indicate that PFAS are linked to this disease.”
The USC researchers collected data from the Multiethnic Cohort Study, a program akin to the UK biobank that collects vast quantities of medical data from individuals in Hawaii and the Los Angeles area.
From a pool of more than 200,000 individuals, 50 individuals with liver cancer were paired with 50 individuals without the disease.
Blood samples from cancer patients before their diagnosis were studied and compared to those from a control group who never had the disease.
Dr. Veronica Wendy Setiawan, a professor of population and public health sciences at USC, said, “Part of the reason there have been so few human studies is that you need the appropriate samples.
Because it takes time for cancer to develop, samples from well before a diagnosis are required when investigating environmental exposure.
They discovered that many individuals who subsequently developed cancer had numerous chemical kinds in their bloodstreams.
Additionally, higher levels enhanced a person’s risk of developing cancer. Their analysis revealed that those in the top 10 percent of chemical exposure were 4.5 times more likely to develop cancer.
The chemicals typically enter the liver after being swallowed, just like many other dangerous substances that the body eventually eats.
However, forever substances will embed themselves in the liver and drastically affect its activities.
The USC researchers discovered that PFOS appears to impact the liver’s glucose metabolism, bile acid metabolism, and amino acid metabolism.
As a result of the disruption, more fat will build around the liver, increasing the risk of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.
Individuals with this syndrome have an elevated risk of acquiring liver cancer. In recent years, there has been a worldwide increase in instances, which is attributed to rising obesity rates in various regions of the world.
By 2030, the worst forecasts indicate that roughly one-third of Americans will be affected by the illness.
In June, the EPA took harsh measures against these substances. It recommended dramatically reducing allowable quantities of persistent chemicals in household products.
The EPA no longer recommends drinking water containing more than 0.004 parts per trillion (ppt) of PFOA and 0.02 ppt of PFOS, as per the revised guidance.
The previous recommendation advised a maximum of 70 ppt, a huge reversal by the leading environmental body in the United States.
Michael Regan, the administrator of the EPA, stated in a statement, “People on the front lines of PFAS poisoning have suffered for far too long.”
As part of a government-wide effort to prevent harmful chemicals from entering the environment and to safeguard concerned families from this ubiquitous problem, the Environmental Protection Agency is taking vigorous action.
Experts have known for a long time that the chemicals lingered on several household products, but they were tolerated as long as they remained below acceptable levels.
Currently, the EPA asserts that the former permitted levels were far too high, and has considerably lowered them.
