Do Pesticides Cause Cancer?

People are exposed to low levels of pesticides every day in a variety of places, from home to work to school. Farmers and agricultural workers, however, and those who live near farms where pesticides are used, face greater risk for exposure. With so much exposure to pesticides, one might wonder, “Do pesticides cause cancer?”

In fact, the relationship between pesticide use and some cancers could rival that of smoking, according to a recent study.

How Pesticides and Cancer Are Linked

The study published in Frontiers in Cancer Control and Society is one of the first studies looking at comprehensive connections between pesticides and cancer. The researchers identified significant associations between pesticides and several cancers, like bladder, colon, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, leukemia, lung and pancreatic cancers, as well as cancer combinations.

The study’s authors assert that pesticides are an essential feature of modern-day agriculture, but they also highlight the inherent danger in relying on them. They compared the risks of exposure to agriculture pesticides to the known cancer risk associated with smoking cigarettes. The authors also noted that, as potentially toxic as individual pesticides may be, they are most often used in combination, and that combination can further enhance the risks of cancer.

The risk isn’t confined to areas where agriculture actually occurs. Communities near agricultural operations are known to face hazardous air- and water-borne pesticides.

States such as Illinois, Iowa, Missouri and Nebraska showed the greatest examples of the connection between pesticides and cancer. This suggests a connection between the corn grown in those areas and the carcinogenic risk among neighboring populations. The study showed a similar connection in fruit production in California and Florida.

Additional associations between the heavy use of specific agricultural pesticides and cancers included:

• Atrazine: When used frequently, the study showed an elevated risk for all cancers and colon cancer.
• Boscalid: Regions with heavy use of this pesticide showed higher incidences of leukemia, non-Hodgkin lymphoma and pancreatic cancer, as well as low added risk for lung cancer.
• Dimethomorph: Associated with a high added risk of leukemia and non-Hodgkin lymphoma, as well as a lower additional risk of colon cancer.
• Dicamba: When used consistently, there is a high risk of colon and pancreatic cancers.
• Dinotefuran: Associated with high rates of leukemia and non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
• Dimethenamid: Used alone, there’s a low risk of bladder cancer, but when used in combination with Dimethenamid-P, it is linked to a high risk of pancreatic cancer.
• Glyphosate: Frequent usage of glyphosate (a.k.a., Roundup) shows higher incidences of lymphoma. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has classified this pesticide as a probable carcinogen.

Can Pesticides Cause Cancer?

The study adds to a growing body of research raising serious questions about the link between pesticides and cancer. Among other things, oxidative stress from the pesticides causes DNA damage and disruption in cellular signaling pathways. This leads to mutations, alterations, gene expression, and ultimately carcinogenesis.