Cited by 40Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances researchFluorine in Organic ChemistrySynthesis and properties of polymers

Involvement of per-and polyfluoroalkyl compounds in tumor development

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Pesonen, Maija, Vähäkangas, Kirsi·2024·Archives of Toxicology

Abstract

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a large group of synthetic persistent chemicals, which are used in many industrial and commercial applications. Hundreds of different PFAS have been identified in the environment and they are commonly found also in human blood. Due to the chemical stability and extensive use, PFAS pose a risk for human health and wildlife. Mounting evidence indicates that PFAS-exposure adversely affects many organs including liver, kidney, and reproductive tissues and induces tumors in laboratory rodents. Epidemiological studies show association between PFAS-exposure and some tumors also in humans. Effects of PFAS-exposure are complex and obviously do not depend only on the concentration and the structure of PFAS, but also on age and sex of the exposed individuals. It has been difficult to show a causal link between PFAS-exposure and tumors. Moreover, molecular mechanisms of the PFAS effects in different tissues are poorly understood. PFAS are not directly mutagenic and they do not induce formation of DNA binding metabolites, and thus are assumed to act more through non-genotoxic mechanisms. In this review, we discuss the involvement of PFAS-compounds in tumor development in tissues where PFAS exposure has been associated with cancer in epidemiological and animal studies (liver, kidney, testicle and breast). We will focus on molecular pathways and mechanisms related to tumor formation following PFAS-exposure.

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  • PFAS exposure is associated with testicular and breast cancer, with high risk in adults.

    “| Cancer Risk | testicular, breast cancer. | High | Adults | Long-term cancer risk | [234,235] |”

    From Industrial Applications, Environmental Fate, Human Exposure, and Health Effects of PFAS (2025) · cites this paper as [234]

    The Introduction and the sections on testicular tumors and the mammary gland report associations between PFAS exposure and both cancers, including evidence involving adults. They do not establish that cancer risk is uniformly “high” for adults; the breast-cancer section describes the evidence as “some evidence” and notes differences by exposure level and tumor type. (LLM, conf=0.85)

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Research works printed but not linked: 3

  1. Jin R McConnell R Catherine C Xu S Walker DI Stratakis N Perfluoroalkyl substances and severity of nonalcoholic fatty liver in children: An untargeted metabolomics approach Environ Int 2020 134 105220 10.1016/j.envint.2019.105220 31744629 PMC6944061 · DOI
  2. Kjølholt J, Astrup Jensen A, Warming M (Eds) (2015) Short-chain polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), Report No: 1707ISBN no. 978–87–93352–15–5. Ed. The Danish Environmental Protection Agency, Copenhagen, Denmark, pp. 106.
  3. UNEP (2009) Recommendations of the persistent organic pollutants review committee of the Stockholm convention to amend annexes A, B or C of the convention. UNEP/POPS/COP.4/17

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Authors
Pesonen, M., & Vähäkangas, K.
Affiliations
University of Eastern Finland (FI)
Corresponding author
Pesonen, Maija
Venue
Archives of Toxicology
Published
2024-03-13
Volume
98
Issue
5
Pages
1241-1252
ISSN
  • 0340-5761 (ISSN-L)
  • 1432-0738
OpenAlex
W4392763702
Cited by
40
References
110
Citations by year
2026: 15 · 2025: 19 · 2024: 6
FWCI
1.29
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Archives of Toxicology (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
University of Eastern Finland
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Environmental Chemistry › Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances research
  • Life Sciences › Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics › Pharmaceutical Science › Fluorine in Organic Chemistry
  • Physical Sciences › Materials Science › Polymers and Plastics › Synthesis and properties of polymers
Keywords
per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, PFAS, carcinogenesis, cancer, liver cancer, kidney cancer, testicular cancer, breast cancer, molecular pathways, PFAS exposure, persistent organic pollutants, human health risk
MeSH terms
Animals, Fluorocarbons, Humans, Kidney, Liver, Neoplasms, Mutagenesis, Alkanesulfonic Acids

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