Chlordecone increases the risk of prostate cancer

"Exposure to chlordecone significantly increases the risk of prostate cancer." This is the main result of an epidemiological study conducted in Guadeloupe and Martinique (Journal of Clinical Oncology).

Chlordecone has been for many years a subject of controversy particularly explosive in the Caribbean. Because the pesticide was allowed on several occasions between 1973 and 1993 and heavily used in banana plantations during this period, although it had been prohibited since 1976 in the United States in 1979 and the International Centre against cancer classified it as possibly carcinogenic to humans.

Used against the weevil, a small nocturnal beetle that attacks the banana, chlordecone is one of the first endocrine disruptors studied in the world. This product family interacts with hormone-related cancers like prostate or breast cancer.

The more exposure to chlordecone, the higher the risk of cancer increases. But the researchers are not able to quantify this risk. Leaning on a blood test rate of chlordecone in the blood, the study shows that the increase is significant when concentrations above 0.1 micrograms per liter (1 mg = 1 millionth of a gram). The association is demonstrated, but this does not mean that there is a link of cause and effect.

Research will be applied to other molecules. The case-control study compared the health profiles of 709 men, mean age 65 newly affected by the disease, with 723 healthy men. This is the first study integrating a large number of people. It has been made possible by the frequency of prostate cancer among African-Caribbeans, one of the highest in the world.

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