Men Beware, BPA Can Trigger Prostate Cancer

Kapanlagi.com - Have you ever thought about the compound Bisphenol A (BPA) and its connection to the risk of prostate cancer? Surprisingly, they are related. At least, that's the conclusion drawn from a recent study in Spain, which explores the potential relationship between BPA levels and the risk of prostate cancer.

This research method involved four sub-cohort centers (groups with similar characteristics) from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC-Spain), with a total of 4,812 participants (547 breast cancer cases, 575 prostate cancer cases, and 3,690 sub-cohort participants). The average monitoring time in this study was 16.9 years.

"The conclusion of this study shows that there is an increased risk of prostate cancer with higher levels of BPA in serum," said the research team, as quoted from the journal Environmental Health. "We still need to conduct further investigations to better understand the influence of BPA on the risk of prostate cancer."

1. Cancer Rates Worldwide Continue to Increase

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Based on data, cancer rates worldwide continue to increase with 18.1 million new cancer cases and 9.6 million cancer deaths in 2018. In Europe, breast cancer and prostate cancer dominate the health issues related to cancer with 13.5% and 12.6% of newly diagnosed cases in 2018. A similar situation occurs in Spain, with 32,536 new breast cancer cases and 34,394 prostate cancer cases in 2019.

Several hormone-related cancer risk factors are associated with lifestyle factors such as diet, smoking, weight, alcohol consumption, and physical activity. However, due to the hormone nature of these tumors, some environmental pollutants have the potential to be carcinogenic.

"In this case, Bisphenol A (BPA) is considered an endocrine disruptor," the team stated, as explained in their research publication titled "Bisphenol-A exposure and risk of breast and prostate cancer in the Spanish European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition study" (2021).

2. BPA Becomes One of the Chemicals with the Highest Production Volume in the World

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BPA is widely produced for the manufacture of polysulfone and polycarbonate plastics, polymers and epoxy resins, as well as thermal paper. It is one of the chemicals with the highest production volume in the world, up to 5 million tons per year globally. Therefore, its presence is considered widespread in the environment and exposure to humans occurs continuously.

As a result, it is inevitable that currently BPA has been detected in the urine of almost 90% of adults and children, as well as in the serum of the general population, pregnant women, placentas, breast milk, and amniotic fluid in pregnant women. Humans are exposed to BPA through several routes: food (through the mouth), occupation (inhalation), and contact with materials, types of plastic, and medical devices (through the skin).

"However, the main route of BPA exposure is through food, because many food packaging such as cans, plastic boxes, and others contain BPA, and this substance can migrate into food," the research team explained.

3. Research Results on the Impact of BPA on Prostate Cancer in Indonesia

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Some time ago, public health experts from the Faculty of Public Health, University of North Sumatra (USU), Dr. Ir. Evi., M.Kes., also mentioned that the content of BPA in plastic not only can trigger reproductive disorders, but also prostate cancer in men. "The negative impact of BPA can disrupt the reproductive system in both men and women, affect fertility, and pose a risk of prostate cancer in men," said Evi, as quoted by Antara (22/9).

Evi said this during a seminar entitled "Efforts to Protect Public Health through Regulation of Bisphenol A (BPA) Labeling in Bottled Drinking Water," which was held by USU in collaboration with the Medan Center for Drug and Food Control (BPOM). "There are quite a few researchers and experts. So, seriousness is needed to address this," said this lecturer from the Faculty of Public Health, University of North Sumatra (USU).

Quoting the Info Sehat website of the UI Faculty of Medicine, Prof.Dr.dr. Soehartati Argadikosoema Gondhowiardjo, said that previously prostate cancer mostly occurred in men aged 60 and above. However, there has been an increase in cases of prostate cancer occurring at a younger age, between 15-40 years old.

In Indonesia, Global Cancer Statistics show that prostate cancer is the fifth most common cancer in men in Indonesia, with 13,563 new cases in 2020, as reported by the International Agency for Research on Cancer from the World Health Organization (WHO).

Despite the high number of prostate cancer cases in men in Indonesia, 70% of men diagnosed with prostate cancer only seek medical treatment when it is already late, as stated by the Chairman of the Indonesian Society of Radiation Oncology (PORI) and Professor/Senior Medical Staff of the Department of Radiotherapy at RSUPN Dr. Cipto Mangunkusumo–FKUI.

Currently, research is ongoing to investigate the link between exposure to BPA and prostate cancer. A recent study published in 2023 analyzed low-concentration exposure to Bisphenol A, S, and F in prostate cancer cells.

The study published in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences titled “Transcriptome-Wide Analysis of Low-Concentration Exposure to Bisphenol A, S, and F in Prostate Cancer Cells” found that BPA exposure increases prostate cancer, and the results indicate that the effect of bisphenol exposure on prostate cancer is mediated by the androgen receptor signaling pathway.

(kly/tmi)