title: Increased concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls, hexachlorobenzene, and chlordanes in mothers of men with testicular cancer.
abstract: An increasing incidence of testicular cancer has been reported from several countries in the Western world during the last decades. According to current hypothesis, testicular cancer is initiated during the fetal period, and exposure to endocrine disruptors, i.e., xenoestrogens, has been of concern. In this investigation we studied the concentrations of the sum of 38 polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), p,p'-dichlorodiphenyl-dichloroethylene, hexachlorobenzene (HCB), and chlordanes, in 61 cases with testicular cancer and 58 age-matched controls. Furthermore, case and control mothers were also asked to participate, and 44 case mothers and 45 control mothers agreed. They were of similar age. In cases only the concentration on lipid basis of cis-nonachlordane was significantly increased, whereas case mothers showed significantly increased concentrations of the sum of PCBs, HCB, trans- and cis-nonachlordane, and the sum of chlordanes. Among case mothers the sum of PCBs yielded an odds ratio (OR) of 3.8; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.4-10 was calculated using the median concentration for the control mothers as cutoff value. For HCB, OR = 4.4 (95% CI, 1.7-12); for trans-nonachlordane, OR = 4.1 (95% CI, 1.5-11); for cis-nonachlordane, OR = 3.1 (95% CI, 1.2-7.8); and for sum of chlordanes, OR = 1.9 (95% CI, 0.7-5.0). No consistent different risk pattern was found for seminoma or nonseminoma testicular cancer.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, University Hospital, Orebro, Sweden. lennart.hardell@orebroll.se
authors.forename: Lennart
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Hardell
authors.forename: Bert
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: van Bavel
authors.forename: Gunilla
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lindström
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Carlberg
authors.forename: Ann Charlotte
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Dreifaldt
authors.forename: Hans
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wijkström
authors.forename: Hans
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Starkhammar
authors.forename: Mikael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Eriksson
authors.forename: Arne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hallquist
authors.forename: Torgny
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kolmert
mesh_terms: D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002706:Chlordan / Q000032:analysis* / Q000506:poisoning; D005260:Female; D006581:Hexachlorobenzene / Q000032:analysis* / Q000506:poisoning; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D018811:Maternal Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects*; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls / Q000032:analysis* / Q000506:poisoning; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects; D013736:Testicular Neoplasms / Q000139:chemically induced*
chemical_list: D002706:Chlordan; D006581:Hexachlorobenzene; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls