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A recent study conducted by the Joe C. Wen School of Population & Public Health at the University of California, Irvine has highlighted potential associations between exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in drinking water and an increased incidence of specific childhood cancers.
PFAS, often referred to as “forever chemicals” due to their environmental persistence, are commonly found in numerous industrial and consumer products. These substances have been linked to a variety of negative health outcomes. Notably, a monitoring initiative by the Environmental Protection Agency showed that PFAS were present in California’s drinking water during the years 2013 to 2015.
In a study published in the journal Environmental Epidemiology, the researchers explored how PFAS exposure from contaminated drinking water might be connected to the risk of childhood cancers.
“Our findings suggest associations between prenatal PFAS exposure and certain types of childhood cancers, particularly acute myeloid leukemia and Wilms tumors,” stated Natalie Binczewski, the lead author and a Ph.D. candidate in environmental health sciences at UC Irvine.
The research involved an analysis of data from 10,220 children diagnosed with cancer between 2000 and 2015, compared to a control group of 29,974 healthy children. The researchers estimated maternal PFAS exposure by correlating geocoded addresses at birth with local water district contamination data. The analysis revealed that elevated levels of two specific PFAS—perfluorooctanesulfonic acid and perfluorooctanoic acid—were linked to certain childhood cancers.
“Though our results do not definitively establish that PFAS exposure causes childhood cancers, they contribute to an expanding body of evidence that highlights potential health risks associated with these substances,” Binczewski noted. “This underscores the critical need for clean drinking water and ongoing regulatory actions to safeguard public health.”
The research team included several prominent figures in the field, such as Veronica Vieira, professor and chair of environmental & occupational health at UC Irvine; Libby M. Morimoto, associate project scientist; and Catherine Metayer, adjunct professor from UC Berkeley’s School of Public Health. Other contributors included Xiaomei Ma from the Yale School of Public Health and Joseph L. Wiemels from USC’s Keck School of Medicine.
This study received funding from the National Institutes of Health under grant R01 ES032196.
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