Bisphenol A Triggers Changes in Rats That May Lead to Breast Cancer

the Oncology Nurse Advisor take:

New research presents another cause for concern in regard to the chemical bisphenol A (BPA). The study is the first to examine what impact BPA has on the DNA of mammary glands as they age. Mother rats were injected with amounts of BPA “we would expect to find in humans,” explained the senior author of the study. The researchers saw erroneous development in the mammary glands, and later on the probability of cancer developing in those glands was increased. The chemical appears to alter how genes express themselves in different tissues. Chemical industry representatives have said BPA is safe because people are exposed to low doses and it leaves the body quickly. Furthermore, they take issue with how the laboratory animals were exposed. However, the researchers believe the exposure route is not as important as the amount of BPA that had not metabolized in the rats. An epigenetics specialists not involved in the study points out that this new research does not mean BPA causes cancer; rather exposure could increase the risk. But the researchers point out that the sum of this and other potential affects of BPA exposure (eg, early onset of puberty, early vaginal opening, increased body weight, decreased hormone levels, and reduced fertility) should prompt alarm over BPA exposure.