In utero exposure to persistent organic pollutants in relation to testicular cancer risk

  1. LENNART HARDELL1,2,
  2. BERT VAN BAVEL2,
  3. GUNILLA LINDSTRÖM2,
  4. MIKAEL ERIKSSON3,
  5. MICHAEL CARLBERG1

Article first published online: 20 DEC 2005

DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2605.2005.00622.x

Issue

International Journal of Andrology

International Journal of Andrology

Volume 29, Issue 1, pages 228–234, February 2006

Additional Information

How to Cite

HARDELL, L., VAN BAVEL, B., LINDSTRÖM, G., ERIKSSON, M. and CARLBERG, M. (2006), In utero exposure to persistent organic pollutants in relation to testicular cancer risk. International Journal of Andrology, 29: 228–234. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2605.2005.00622.x

Author Information

  1. 1

    Department of Oncology, University Hospital, S-701 85 Örebro, Sweden

  2. 2

    Department of Natural Sciences, Örebro University, SE-701 87 Örebro, Sweden

  3. 3

    Department of Oncology, University Hospital, SE-221 85, Lund, Sweden

*Lennart Hardell, Department of Oncology, University Hospital, S-701 85 Örebro, Sweden. E-mail: lennart.hardell@orebroll.se

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 7 FEB 2006
  2. Article first published online: 20 DEC 2005
  3. Received 21 June 2005; revised 20 September 2005; accepted 13 October 2005

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Keywords:

  • aetiology;
  • incidence;
  • perinatal exposure;
  • persistent organic pollutants;
  • polychlorinated biphenyls;
  • testicular cancer

Summary

Testicular cancer is the most common tumour type in young men. In Sweden the annual age-adjusted incidence increased significantly by 2.4% during the time period 1984–1993 and during 1994–2003 by 1.4%. Exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals during the foetal period has been postulated to be a risk factor. In this investigation we studied the concentrations of chlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), p,p′-dichlorodiphenyl-dichloroethylene (pp′-DDE), hexachlorobenzene (HCB), chlordanes and polybrominated diphenylethers (PBDEs) in 58 cases with testicular cancer and 61 age-matched controls. Furthermore, case and control mothers were also asked to participate and 44 case mothers and 45 control mothers agreed. No significant differences were found between cases and controls. Case mothers had in general higher concentrations of these chemicals. For the sum of PCBs an odds ratio (OR) = 3.8, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.4–10 was calculated using the median concentration for the controls as cut-off value. For HCB OR = 4.4, CI = 1.7–12 and for PBDE OR = 2.5, 95% CI = 1.02–6.0 were obtained, whereas OR was not significantly increased for pp′-DDE and sum of chlordanes. The cases were born during a period with high concentrations of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in humans. The decline of the increasing incidence of testicular cancer during recent years may reflect decreasing body burden of certain POPs since the 1980s.

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