Prostate Cancer: Exposure to PFAS and a high-fat diet increase the risk of cancer

    A high-fat diet and exposure to PFAS cause changes in prostate cells that lead to the growth of tumors

    Don't store avocado like this: it's dangerous

    A new study suggests that a high-fat diet, combined with exposure to PFAS, causes changes in prostate cells that can lead to rapid growth of cancer masses.





    Exposure to PFAS - a class of chemical compounds with attractive properties (heat resistance, non-stick, impermeability) used for the production of non-stick cookware and dishes, hygiene products, paints and much more - would be able to "Reprogram" the metabolism of prostate cells, both malignant and benign, leading them to a state of greater energy efficiency that allows cells to proliferate up to three times faster than cells that have not undergone exposure. But not only: a high-fat diet would further promote the growth of cancer cells, already accelerated by exposure to PFAS. This is what emerges from a study recently conducted by the University of Illinois.

    Our results suggest that exposure to PFAS combines with dietary fat to activate the PPARa gene, which alters cellular metabolism in ways that increase carcinogenic risk in healthy prostate cells and promote tumor progression in malignant ones. - explains the professor Zeynep Madak-Erdogan, author of the study. - These alterations in cellular metabolism following activation of the PPARa gene may support an increased risk of prostate cancer observed in men who have been exposed to PFAS.

    (Read also: Prostate cancer and pesticides: ANSES scientific report confirms the correlation, especially with chlordecone)

    In their analysis, the researchers found that the PPARa gene is expressed at significantly more prominent levels in PFAS-exposed cancer cells than those on a high-fat diet. PPARa controls cell proliferation and differentiation, contributes to the inflammatory and immune response, and plays a key role in the development of liver and kidney tumors. Numerous previous studies, relating to PFAS, have already shown how these chemicals are associated with numerous health problems - such as prostate cancer, the most common form of cancer in US men.



    Prostate Cancer: Exposure to PFAS and a high-fat diet increase the risk of cancer

    @MDPI

    We analyzed changes in metabolism in response to exposure to PFAS and PFOS and found that the metabolic phenotype of prostate cancer cells was altered and produced energy above normal levels - he says. Joseph Irudayaraj, co-author of the study. - Exposure to these substances significantly increases the number of genes associated with metabolism, in particular the pyruvate molecule involved in glucose metabolism, and acetyl-coenzyme A which facilitates the metabolism of fatty acids and steroids.

    A study conducted in 2019 by the same research team had shown that changes in the metabolism of pyruvate and fatty acids are associated with various forms of cancer and other pathologies: in particular, free fatty acids would lead tumor-positive estrogen-receptive cells to the breast to proliferate more and more, causing the tumor to grow. Structurally, chemicals in the PFAS family "resemble" free fatty acids and combine with the same proteins, according to the researchers.

    Read all our articles on PFAS.

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    Sources: MDPI / University of Illinois


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