Crop herbicide may cause cancer



Crop herbicide may cause cancer



Last Updated: 2009-04-01 16:45:01 -0400 (Reuters Health)

By David Douglas

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Exposure to the crop herbicide imazethapyr might promote the development of some cancers, researchers report in the International Journal of Cancer.

Imazethapyr belongs to a group of chemicals called heterocyclic amines and "there is a wealth of evidence implicating several heterocyclic amines as (cancer causing), although not all of these compounds are equally harmful," lead researcher Dr. Stella Koutros told Reuters Health. "Several heterocyclic amine compounds are used in occupational settings, such as use of the crop herbicide imazethapyr among farmers."

Koutros of the National Cancer Institute, Rockville, Maryland, and colleagues analyzed data from 1993 to 1997 on more than 20,000 pesticide workers who had used imazethapyr. Through 2004, almost 3000 incident cancers developed in this group.

Workers exposed to the highest levels of imazehapyr were over twice as likely to develop bladder cancer than workers who were not exposed to the agent at all. Similarly, high exposure to imazethapyr increased the odds of colon cancer by 78 percent.

By contrast, exposure to the pesticide did not seem to cause cancers of the prostate, lung, or kidney, or the skin cancer melanoma.

The results suggest that imazethapyr exposure may be overlooked as a cause of bladder and colon cancer, Koutros said.

She and her colleagues therefore conclude, "The use of imazethapyr and other (related) compounds should continue to be evaluated for potential risk to humans."

SOURCE: International Journal of Cancer, March 1, 2009.

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