More than a dozen chemicals used in popular weed killers like Roundup could be raising the risk of prostate cancer, shocking new research has revealed.
In a report published in the journal Cancer, researchers analyzed 300 pesticides and found that 22 were directly linked to the development of prostate cancer, and four were shown to increase the probability of death.
The study comes after Bayer AG was ordered to pay $2.25 billion in January after a Pennsylvania jury unanimously ruled that its Roundup weed killer gave a man cancer.
In the new study, researchers assessed data related to the annual usage of pesticides between 1997 and 2001 as well as between 2003 and 2006. Taking into account the slow-growing disposition of prostate cancer, they then compared those figures against diagnoses made between 2011 and 2015 and between 2016 and 2020, respectively.
The team said that 19 of the 22 pesticides linked to an increased risk of prostate cancer have not previously been associated with the disease.
Four of the 22 pesticides — trifluralin, cloransulam-methyl, thiamethoxam and diflufenzopyr — were linked to an increased likelihood of death by prostate cancer.
Dr. Simon John Christoph Soerensen, study lead author and prostate cancer expert at Stanford University, noted that his team’s observational research cannot prove causality. However, he is hopeful that the results could “potentially explain” some of the “geographic variation” in prostate cancer diagnoses and deaths across the US.
“By building on these findings, we can work towards reducing the number of men affected by this disease,” he said.
Prostate cancer is fueling a cancer epidemic, with 10% of new diagnoses in the US occurring in men under 55, and deaths from prostate cancer are expected to jump 136% from 2022 to 2050.
Prostate cancer is the second most common form of male cancer after skin cancer. According to the American Cancer Society, prostate cancer is not typically fatal — in part because it is usually slow-growing, is often low-grade, and it has many treatment options are available.
An estimated one in eight men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer, but only one in 39 (or 2.6%) will die from it, according to the National Institutes of Health.
As with all cancers, early detection and early-stage treatment are critical to survival.
Treatment for prostate cancer includes surgery, chemotherapy, immunotherapy, radiation, or targeted drug therapy.
Situated below the bladder, the prostate gland’s primary function is semen production and ejaculation.
Prostate problems can manifest as urinary symptoms, including an urgent need to pee and/or difficulty starting the steam, weak flow, or straining.
In addition to urinary symptoms, the presence of blood in the urine or semen should be addressed with a doctor immediately. Indicators that advanced prostate cancer has spread include bone and back pain, weight loss, testicular pain and loss of appetite.
Pesticides like the ones observed in this latest study are used as agricultural support to maintain crops, kill weeds and manage insect and vermin infestations.
According to the Daily Mail, pesticide consumption has grown nearly 60 percent since 1990, reaching 5.86 billion pounds by 2020. Pesticides are a blanket term for chemicals that include herbicides, which are specifically used to kill weeds.
Roundup — the most widely used weed killer in the US — reportedly contains 41% of the herbicide glyphosate, a known endocrine disruptor.
Endocine disruptors interfere with hormone systems, causing side effects like infertility, birth defects, developmental disorders and increased cancer risk.
Roundup also includes 2,4-dichloroacetic acid, also known as 2,4-D. Animal studies have linked exposure to 2,4-D during pregnancy with lower body weight and behavioral issues in offspring. Separate research has established a link between exposure to 2,4-D and an increased risk of lymphoma, as well as kidney and liver damage.
Monsanto and its owner Bayer AG, the manufacturers of Roundup, have repeatedly denied these dangers and assured the public that thier products pose no threat to human health.
Yet, earlier this year, Bayer AG was ordered to pay $2.25 billion after a Pennsylvania jury unanimously ruled that its Roundup weed killer gave a man cancer.
John McKivinson, 49, who was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, sued Roundup maker Monsanto and its corporate parent, Bayer, saying he developed the cancer after using the herbicide on his property for two decades.
McKivinson’s attorneys at Kline & Specter previously told The Post that the massive payout includes $2 billion in punitive damages.
Jury members also found that Monsanto was negligent in warning customers about the dangers of Roundup,
The jury’s ruling is “a declaration that its misconduct was in reckless disregard of human safety and a substantial cause of John McKivison’s cancer.”
