TY - JOUR
T1 - Environmental exposures and cancer
T2 - Using the precautionary principle
AU - Cohen, Lorenzo
AU - Jefferies, Alison
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 the authors; licensee ecancermedicalscience.
PY - 2019
Y1 - 2019
N2 - Since the 1970s, more than 87,000 chemicals have been approved for commercial use. Yet of those thousands of chemicals, only just over one thousand have been formally examined and graded for their carcinogenic potential. Of those, five hundred have been found worthy of being graded on a cautiously worded scale ranging from "known"carcinogens to "possibly"carcinogenic. In addition to carcinogenic substances, a new field has emerged researching how environmental toxins cause endocrine or hormonal disruption. A class of these compounds known as endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) can be found in our food, our environment, and in the products we put on our bodies. Rather than being directly linked to causing cancer, like substances such as asbestos, EDCs influence our health by mimicking or enhancing or changing metabolic regulation. These compounds interfere with hormone production and metabolism in ways that may-especially over the long term-create biological conditions that make us more susceptible to cancer and other diseases. Most of us are exposed to a cocktail of environmental toxins on an ongoing daily basis and at a relatively low level of exposure. Given the lax regulation of chemicals and the reactionary approach of government regulators, it is up to the consumer to be diligent about reading labels and making healthy choices to limit exposure to chemicals and toxins. It is ideal to adopt the Precautionary Principle: until a chemical is found to be harmless, try to not use it. The precautionary principle means that you are maintaining awareness of what you are putting on and in your body and taking steps to avoid exposing yourself unnecessarily to toxins in your household and environment.
AB - Since the 1970s, more than 87,000 chemicals have been approved for commercial use. Yet of those thousands of chemicals, only just over one thousand have been formally examined and graded for their carcinogenic potential. Of those, five hundred have been found worthy of being graded on a cautiously worded scale ranging from "known"carcinogens to "possibly"carcinogenic. In addition to carcinogenic substances, a new field has emerged researching how environmental toxins cause endocrine or hormonal disruption. A class of these compounds known as endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) can be found in our food, our environment, and in the products we put on our bodies. Rather than being directly linked to causing cancer, like substances such as asbestos, EDCs influence our health by mimicking or enhancing or changing metabolic regulation. These compounds interfere with hormone production and metabolism in ways that may-especially over the long term-create biological conditions that make us more susceptible to cancer and other diseases. Most of us are exposed to a cocktail of environmental toxins on an ongoing daily basis and at a relatively low level of exposure. Given the lax regulation of chemicals and the reactionary approach of government regulators, it is up to the consumer to be diligent about reading labels and making healthy choices to limit exposure to chemicals and toxins. It is ideal to adopt the Precautionary Principle: until a chemical is found to be harmless, try to not use it. The precautionary principle means that you are maintaining awareness of what you are putting on and in your body and taking steps to avoid exposing yourself unnecessarily to toxins in your household and environment.
KW - Cancer
KW - Carcinogen
KW - Endocrine-disrupting compounds
KW - Environment
KW - Toxins
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85075165908&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85075165908&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3332/ECANCER.2019.ED91
DO - 10.3332/ECANCER.2019.ED91
M3 - Review article
C2 - 31281435
AN - SCOPUS:85075165908
SN - 1754-6605
JO - ecancermedicalscience
JF - ecancermedicalscience
IS - 13
M1 - ed91
ER -