LONG-TERM exposure to oestrogen-like chemicals might increase the risk of breast cancer in women with a genetic predisposition to the disease. 鈥淔or people who are susceptible, breast cancer might be sped up,鈥� says William Baldwin of the University of Texas in El Paso.
For nine months his team fed a chemical called 4-nonylphenol, which is found in drinking water, processed foods, plastics and paints, to mice with a mutation that makes them susceptible to breast cancer. Five out of the 13 mice fed a high dose of the substance developed breast cancer, compared with none of the 14 fed a lower dose and only one out of the 14 mice fed honey (Journal of Applied Toxicology, DOI: 10.10002/jat.1078).
鈥淚t was a little more potent than we thought,鈥� says Baldwin. Although the dose is probably higher than most people are exposed to, Baldwin thinks that other environmental oestrogens, such as bisphenol A, are likely to have a similar effect, so there is cause for concern about their cumulative long-term effects. 鈥淲e are exposed to a soup of oestrogens,鈥� he says.
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