Prevalence of prostate cancer in high boron-exposed population: a community-based study

We investigated the possible relationship between boron exposure and prostate cancer (PCa) for men living and being employed at boron mines in villages with rich boron minerals. Out of 456 men studied, 159 were from villages with rich boron sources and boron levels in drinking water of >1 mg L(-1) and these men formed the study group, while 63 from villages with rich boron sources and boron levels in drinking water of <1 mg L(-1) were enrolled into control group 1. A further 234 subjects from other villages with no boron mines were considered as control group 2. Prostate specific antigen (PSA) levels could be obtained from a total of 423 men. Urinary boron concentration as an indicator of boron exposure in 63 subjects, prostatic volumes by transrectal ultrasonography in 39 subjects, and prostatic biopsies in 36 subjects were obtained for study and control groups. The daily boron exposure was calculated according to urinary boron levels. Although there was no significant difference among the groups in terms of total PSA levels, the number of subjects with tPSA ≥2.5 and tPSA ≥10.0 ng dL(-1) prostatic volumes in men whose prostates were biopsied (p < 0.012) was significantly lower in the study group as compared with those in the control group 2. These results suggested that high exposure to boron might have an implication within the prostatic cellular processes related to hyperplasia and carcinogenesis, even though we did not find a statistically significant association between PCa and boron exposure.