BPA linked to prostate cancer, study shows

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 3-Mar-2014
Contact: Katie Pence
University of Cincinnati Academic Health Center

BPA linked to prostate cancer, study shows

CINCINNATI—Findings by Cincinnati Cancer Center researchers show that levels of bisphenol A (BPA) in men's urine could be a marker of prostate cancer and that low levels of BPA exposure can cause cellular changes in both non-malignant and malignant prostate cells.

This research, published in the March 3 edition of PLOS ONE, provides the first evidence that urinary BPA levels may help predict prostate cancer and that disruption of a cell duplication cycle through exposure to low-dose BPA may cause cancer development in the prostate.

BPA, an environmental pollutant with estrogen activity, is used to make hard, clear plastic and is common in many food product containers. It has been linked to neurological defects, diabetes and a number of cancers, including breast and prostate.

Principle investigator Shuk-mei Ho, PhD, director of the Cincinnati Cancer Center, Jacob G. Schmidlapp Chair of Environmental Health and professor at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, says that human exposure to BPA is a common occurrence and that animal studies have shown that BPA contributes to development of prostate cancer but that human data are scarce.

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