Phenolic Endocrine-Disrupting Chemical Exposure and Systemic Biomarker Variability in Patients with Lung Cancer

Area of Science:

• Environmental Health
• Oncology
• Toxicology

Background:

• Limited human biomonitoring data exists for endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) in cancer patients.
• Environmental EDC exposure is a suspected factor in cancer-related biological variability.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess urinary EDC concentrations in advanced lung cancer patients.
• To investigate associations between EDC exposure and cardiometabolic, hematological, inflammatory, and survival parameters.

Main Methods:

• Included 190 patients with stage IIIB/IV lung cancer.
• Measured urinary bisphenol A (BPA), bisphenol S (BPS), triclosan (TCS), and resorcinol (RCO) using validated methods.
• Employed sex-stratified statistical analyses and regression models adjusted for covariates.

Main Results:

• TCS, BPS, RCO, and BPA were detected at varying frequencies, with TCS being most common.
• Sex-specific exposure patterns were noted, with higher BPA and BPS in females.
• EDC exposure correlated with altered kidney function, liver enzymes, inflammatory markers, and anthropometrics.
• BPA/BPS linked to renal function and inflammation; TCS associated with reduced leukocytes.
• Borderline associations observed between BPA exposure and survival.

Conclusions:

• Provides novel human biomonitoring evidence linking phenolic EDCs to systemic metabolic and inflammatory variability in lung cancer.
• Supports the biological plausibility of EDCs contributing to interindividual heterogeneity in cancer-related physiological responses.