Occupational Exposure to Endocrine-Disrupting Pesticides and the Potential for Developing Hormonal Cancers.* Endocrine disrupters are defined as exogenous chemical agents that interfere with the synthesis, secretion, transport, binding, action, or elimination of natural hormones. * A large number of pesticides show endocrine-disrupting activities. * Farmers, as a group, may be particularly at risk. * Some of the endocrine-disrupting pesticides are strongly resistant to biodegradation. * As a result, they are present in the food chain and accumulate in human bodies. * These chemicals can bind to intracellular receptor Intracellular receptors are receptors located inside the cell rather than on its cell membrane. Examples are the class of nuclear receptors located in the cell nucleus and the IP3 receptor located on the endoplasmic reticulum. proteins for steroid hormones and precipitate hormonal effects. * Recent studies have shown that the incidence of hormone-related organ cancers, or hormonal cancers, is elevated among farmers. * Exposure to endocrine-disrupting pesticides, particularly to DDT DDT or 2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)-1,1,1,-trichloroethane, chlorinated hydrocarbon compound used as an insecticide. First introduced during the 1940s, it killed insects that spread disease and feed on crops. and phenoxy herbicides, is suspected of involvement in some of these cancers. * There is, however, a lack of data that would show any individual agricultural chemical involved in the development of cancers among farmers. * Existing studies of farmers do not provide specific assessment of pesticide exposure. * Most of the studies have been conducted among pesticide applicators or workers in pesticide-manufacturing plants. * There is a clear need for a refined epidemiological study An Epidemiological study is a statistical study on human populations, which attempts to link human health effects to a specified cause. that examines any association between pesticides and hormonal cancers among farmers. * At the cellular level, exposure to synthetic stilbene stil·bene n. A colorless or yellowish unsaturated crystalline hydrocarbon compound that is the chemical basis for diethylstilbestrol and other synthetic estrogenic compounds. estrogen and phenolic phe·no·lic adj. Of, relating to, containing, or derived from phenol. n. Any of various synthetic thermosetting resins, obtained by the reaction of phenols with simple aldehydes and used as adhesives. estrogen-like occupational chemicals may cause several structural, numerical, and functional changes in the genome. * In addition, these compounds alter cell cycle kinetics, induce DNA DNA: see nucleic acid. DNA or deoxyribonucleic acid One of two types of nucleic acid (the other is RNA); a complex organic compound found in all living cells and many viruses. It is the chemical substance of genes. damage, and trigger chromosomal aberrations. * Although some of these compounds may have only weak endocrine-disrupting activities, the combined burden of estrogenicity and genomic instability could produce more detrimental effects than estrogenic action alone. * Biological monitoring of endocrine-disrupting pesticides and determination of their ability to produce genomic instability in the target organ target organ n. A tissue or organ that is affected by a specific hormone. target organ, n the organ or body part whose activity levels demonstrate change in the course of biofeedback. should lead to a better understanding of how exposure to these chemicals may influence health. |
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