Bethesda, Md.-based National Cancer Institute Research Fellow Hamdi Abdi and colleagues conducted a meta-analysis of 16 studies with 480,000 participants in Asia, Europe and the United States. All the records had information on pesticide exposure and examined their relation to hepatocellular carcinoma.
Researchers associated pesticide exposure with a 71 percent increased risk of liver cancer. Dr. Abdi noted that “isn’t an extreme value.”
Ms. Abdi said researchers should conduct additional research that indicates specific type of pesticides use; along with more precise pesticide exposure recording.
Ms. Abdi has not had the study published yet, but researchers hope it leads to the development of more studies and a possible dose-response curve. A dose-response curve would tell researchers how a chemical or drug relates to associated effects.
Ms. Abdi concluded it’s difficult at this point to attribute the exact association between liver cancer and pesticide.
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