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Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances and Cancer risk: results from a does-response Meta-analysis

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Abstract

Background

Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) are persistent organic pollutants in the environment. While some studies suggest that PFASs may contribute to cancer development, the link between PFAS exposure and cancer risk remains debated.

Methods

This dose-response meta-analysis explores the relationship between PFASs and cancer. It employs odds ratio (OR) and standardized mean difference (SMD), along with their 95% confidence interval (CI), to assess the effects of PFASs on cancer risk. Relevant studies were sourced from Web of Science, PubMed, Embase, Medline, and CNKI databases. The dose-response relationship was assessed by the fixed-effects model and least-squares regression.

Results

Forty studies, involving a total of 748,188 participants, were included in this meta-analysis. Out of these, 13 studies were specifically analyzed for the dose-response relationship. Findings revealed that exposure to PFASs, especially PFDA, significantly raises the risk of genitourinary cancers, and PFDA exposure shows a dose-dependent increase in overall and breast cancer risk. Additionally, PFOS exposure is associated with an increased cancer risk, and elevated PFOA levels were significantly observed in breast cancer patients.

Conclusions

The findings suggest that PFAS exposure is a potential cancer risk factor, with the carcinogenic potential of PFDA being dose-dependent.

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Data availability

All data are incorporated into the article and its online supplementary material.

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Funding

Wenxing Yang received funding from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 32271178). The funders had no role in the study design, data collection, analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

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  1. Jingxuan Yang, Kui Zhang, and Jingyi Shi contributed equally to this work.

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  1. Department of Physiology, West China School of Basic Medical Sciences & Forensic Medicine, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, 610041, People’s Republic of China

    Jingxuan Yang, Jingyi Shi & Wenxing Yang

  2. Department of Forensic Pathology, West China School of Basic Medical Sciences & Forensic Medicine, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, 610041, People’s Republic of China

    Kui Zhang, Zhuo Li & Hao Dai

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Yang, J., Zhang, K., Shi, J. et al. Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances and Cancer risk: results from a does-response Meta-analysis. J Environ Health Sci Engineer (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40201-024-00899-w

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