Cancer risk for urban women
Wednesday December 16th, 2009
By Jane Collingwood
Women who live in cities face a greater risk of cancer than those in the
countryside, researchers said today.
Scientists
claimed the findings suggest industrial chemicals may trigger a number
of female cancers.
Dr Amr Soliman and colleagues at the University of Michigan, USA, analysed figures from women diagnosed with uterine, ovarian and cervical cancer in Egypt between 1999 and 2002.
Results showed a higher rate of gynaecological cancers (uterine, ovarian and cervical cancer) in urban areas of Egypt than in rural areas. The rate of uterine cancer was six times higher among urban women than rural women.
Full details are published in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.
The authors suggest that exposure to environmental xenoestrogens - industrial compounds that have an oestrogenic activity - may increase women's risk of developing hormone-related cancers.
They explain that previous work has found that cancers of female organs, such as the breasts and uterus, are linked to higher long term exposure to oestrogen. Cancers which are mainly genetically determined, such as leukaemia, had the lowest urban-rural difference.
Dr Soliman commented: "In this population, there is no significant urban-rural difference among women with respect to other risk factors for uterine and breast cancer, healthcare access, and behaviour. There is also very low use of hormonal pills or therapy among Egyptian women.
"The higher exposure of urban women to man-made chemicals in the environment that act as hormones is the probable risk factor."
Journal editor, Professor Philip Steer, said: "This study adds to a growing body of literature demonstrating the impact of environmental chemicals on human health."
He added that further research is needed to investigate the link between xenoestrogens and hormone-related cancers.
Dey, S. Urban-rural differences of gynaecological malignancies in Egypt. BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, published online December 16, 2009.
Tags: Africa | Cancer | North America | Women’s Health & Gynaecology
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