Researchers say farmworkers who experience a high pesticide exposure event, such as a spill, are more likely to have molecular changes in their DNA that may lead to certain types of cancer, says Environmental Health News (EHN). The research was drawn from the long-running Agricultural Health Study of 57,000 private and commercial pesticide users in Iowa and North Carolina.
“The research … adds to growing evidence that high exposure to certain pesticides may spur prostate and other cancers in people handling the chemicals,” said EHN. Other studies have pointed to a possible link between prostate cancer and work that involves pesticides. The new study looked for evidence about how the pesticides might promote cancer. It looked at 596 men and found those who had a “high pesticide exposure event,” such as a spill or accident, were more likely to have elevated levels of DNA methylation in a gene linked with increased risk of prostate cancer, said EHN.
“Proper DNA methylation controls a number of important processes in our body, including regulating how genes are expressed. Certain genes, including ones examined in this study, commonly have elevated DNA methylation during certain cancers,” said EHN. About a quarter of the subjects reported a high-exposure incident. The pesticides involved were not specified.