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- Washington, DC
May 8, 2003
From Capital Reports
WASHINGTON (05/08/03) -- Exposure to certain agricultural pesticides may be associated with an increased risk of prostate cancer among pesticide applicators, according to a large study looking at the causes of cancer and other diseases in the farming community. The study, part of a long-term study of pesticide applicators and their spouses known as the Agricultural Health Study (AHS), appears in the May 1, 2003, issue of the American Journal of Epidemiology*.
The AHS is a collaborative effort involving the National Cancer Institute (NCI), the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, and the Environmental Protection Agency.
The latest report from the AHS evaluated the role of 45 pesticides and found that only a few of them showed evidence of a possible association with prostate cancer among pesticide applicators. Methyl bromide was linked to the risk of prostate cancer in the entire group, while exposure to six other pesticides was associated with an increased risk of prostate cancer only among men with a family history of the disease.
"Associations between pesticide use and prostate cancer risk among the farm population have been seen in previous studies; farming is the most consistent occupational risk factor for prostate cancer," said Michael Alavanja, Dr.P.H., from NCI's Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics in Bethesda, Md., and principal investigator of the AHS.
The AHS, which began in 1993, is following nearly 90,000 participants from North Carolina and Iowa over time to evaluate the role of a variety of agricultural and lifestyle exposures on health. The participants are either farmers, wives of farmers, or workers who use pesticides on a regular basis.
As the study continues and participants age, many new cases of cancer and other diseases will develop. With time, the researchers will be able to confirm or refute the current findings, assess additional relationships between exposures and diseases, and search for possible genetic links to the variety of environmental exposures in the farming community.
For further information, visit the AHS homepage: http://www.aghealth.org
For more information on other research results from the AHS, visit: http://cancer.gov/newscenter/pressreleases/AHSfactsheet
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