Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) exposure and thyroid cancer risk.

Link: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ebiom.2023.104831
Authors: van Gerwen, Maaike; Colicino, Elena; Guan, Haibin; Dolios, Georgia; Nadkarni, Girish N; Vermeulen, Roel C H; Wolff, Mary S; Arora, Manish; Genden, Eric M; Petrick, Lauren M

Abstract: Although per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) exposure is a potential contributor to the increasing thyroid cancer trend, limited studies have investigated the association between PFAS exposure and thyroid cancer in human populations. We therefore investigated associations between plasma PFAS levels and thyroid cancer diagnosis using a nested case-control study of patients with thyroid cancer with plasma samples collected at/before cancer diagnosis. This study reports associations between exposure to PFAS and increased rate of (papillary) thyroid cancer. Thyroid cancer risk from PFAS exposure is a global concern given the prevalence of PFAS exposure. Individual PFAS studied here are a small proportion of the total number of PFAS supporting additional large-scale prospective studies investigating thyroid cancer risk associated with exposure to PFAS chemicals. National Institutes of Health grants and The Andrea and Charles Bronfman Philanthropies.