Transcript PLACE HEADLINE HERE IN 36 POINT ARIAL WHITE

Position statement on cancer
and the environment
DR CARL ALBRECHT
HEAD:RESEARCH
[email protected]
Cancer Association of South Africa (CANSA)
4th June 2008
THE WAR AGAINST CANCER
•We are about half-way in the war against cancer.
•It could last another 50 years
•The biggest problems are:
•Lack of specific therapy
•Cancer spread throughout the body
•Lack of insight into the causes of breast and prostate cancers
•Behavioural change
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STATISTICS:
12.3 million new cases in 2007
7.65 million deaths in 2007
4.65 million survivors
37% survival world-wide
About 100 000 new cases p.a. in South Africa
About 60 000 deaths p.a. in South Africa
40% survival
Survival in U.S. is now 65%
About 21 000 people die of
cancer every day
Worldwide more people die
of cancer than of AIDS, TB
and malaria combined.
In South Africa 6 die of
AIDS for every 1 cancer
death
More than 90% of cancers are
caused by environmental
factors. This is very good news
because it means that the vast
majority of cancers can be
prevented
ROLE OF CANSA AGAINST
CANCER
PREVENTION
THERAPY
• Vaccination hepatitis
New drug development
• Pap smears
•Health promotion
• Focus on Environmental molecules
PALLIATION
Patient care
Survivor care
CAUSES OF CANCER
CANSA’s view
According to Doll*
Tobacco
Diet
Infections
UV light (melanoma)
Occupation
Pollution
Physical inactivity
* Sir Richard Doll
29-31%
20-50%
10-20%
5-7%
2-4%
1-5%
1-2%
Tobacco
Diet
Infections
UV light (melanoma)
Occupation
Pollution
Physical inactivity
29-31%
15%
10-20%
5-7%
2-4%
10-20%
1-2%
WHAT IS MEANT BY
POLLUTION?
POLLUTION
Man made
ARTIFICIAL
Processes
Trans Fats
Acrylamide
Dioxin
Man made
NATURAL
Chemicals
Bisphenol A
Plasticizers
Mining:
Cadmium
Uranium
Asbestos
Smoke
Tobacco
Wood
Coal
Many pollutants can end up in
drinking water
CANSA TARGET
LIST
1. Trans fats
2. Bisphenol A
3. Acrylamide
4. Plasticizers
5. Dioxin
6. Cadmium
7. Uranium
8. Smoke
9. Drinking water
LCMS analytical apparatus at the University of
Stellenbosch
TRANS FATTY
ACIDS
• Made inadvertently
•Man-made during conversion
of vegetable oil to margarine
by industrial hydrogenation.
•CIS-bond converted to a
TRANS-bond
CIS
•Proven relationship with
coronary heart disease
•Association with breast
cancer
•Association with prostate
cancer
•Contribute more to body
weight than unsaturated fats.
SATURATED
TRANS
WORLD REACTION
TO TRANS FATS
•Banned in Denmark since 2003
•Contents of food displayed on
label since January 1st 2006 in
U.S.
• Not present in UNILEVER
margarines such as FLORA,
RAMA and STORK and SPAR
margarine.
•WOOLWORTHS does nor sell
food containing partially
hydrogenated plant oils.
•South African legislation
written, published last year but
not made law yet. Please !!!
CANSA will have all margarines tested
independently for trans fat contents and
this information will be posted on the
CANSA website.
BISPHENOL A
On 18 th April 2008 Canadian
Government bans polycarbonate
baby bottles because one of the
ingredients –Bisphenol A- is
declared toxic and 55-times more
is released from bottles into hot
water vs cold water.
Bisphenol A (BPA) is man-made
and has hormonal activity similar
to estrogen but is used
extensively to make
polycarbonate and epoxy resins.
BPA disturbs biological
processes at very low
concentrations. As little as 2
micrograms in a kilogram, i.e. 2
ppb. It is linked to breast cancer.
Nevertheless FDA and EPA in
U.S. continue to peg the socalled safe level 25-fold higher
e.g. 50 micrograms/kg body
weight per day
Could Bisphenol A be causing breast cancer?
•.
WORLD REACTION TO
BISPHENOL A
“We know a women’s lifetime risk of breast cancer is directly linked to her
lifetime exposure to estrogen – both natural and synthetic estrogen. It’s
outrageous that manufacturers of some baby bottles are exposing little girls
to BPA, a synthetic plasticizer that mimics estrogen, and possibly
increasing that little girl’s risk of breast cancer later in life, especially when
safe alternatives are available.”
Janet Nudelman, Director, Program and Policy for the Breast Cancer Fund.
BPA alone is “worth at least a million dollars every hour”.
•University of Missouri Wade Welshons, in “Tackling Plastics’ Toxic Health Threat”, DISCOVER, May
2008, pg 51
“If I were a pregnant woman, I would try hard to avoid exposure to BPA”
•Randy Jirtle, Duke University geneticist (DISCOVER, May, 2008, pg 50).
PLASTICIZERS
Man-made chemicals used to
make hard plastic softer and
more sticky.
Chemicals known as DEHP and
DEHA.
Used to make “cling wrap” from
PVC.
Used to wrap articles including
food.
Found to migrate from the plastic
into fatty food like cheese and
meat especially at high
temperatures in the microwave
oven.
Found to cause cancer in mice
and rats
Found to interact with master
genes in living cells e.g.
affecting the brain
Major man-made contaminant in
ground water
A b u n d a n c e
T I C : C A _ P la s t ic _ 1 5 . D \ d a t a . m s
8 0 0 0 0 0
7 5 0 0 0 0
7 0 0 0 0 0
CANSA
analysis of cling
wraps
6 5 0 0 0 0
6 0 0 0 0 0
5 5 0 0 0 0
5 0 0 0 0 0
4 5 0 0 0 0
4 0 0 0 0 0
3 5 0 0 0 0
3 0 0 0 0 0
2 5 0 0 0 0
2 0 0 0 0 0
1 5 0 0 0 0
1 0 0 0 0 0
5 0 0 0 0
6 .0 0
T im e - - >
8 .0 0
1 0 .0 0
1 2 .0 0
1 4 .0 0
1 6 .0 0
1 8 .0 0
2 0 .0 0
2 2 .0 0
2 4 .0 0
2 6 .0 0
2 8 .0 0
3 0 .0 0
3 2 .0 0
CANSA RECOGNISES GLAD
WRAP – WHO IS DOING IT
RIGHT?
A b u n d a n c e
T I C : C A _ P la s t ic _ 1 5 . D \ d a t a . m s
8 0 0 0 0 0
7 5 0 0 0 0
7 0 0 0 0 0
6 5 0 0 0 0
6 0 0 0 0 0
5 5 0 0 0 0
5 0 0 0 0 0
4 5 0 0 0 0
4 0 0 0 0 0
3 5 0 0 0 0
3 0 0 0 0 0
2 5 0 0 0 0
2 0 0 0 0 0
1 5 0 0 0 0
1 0 0 0 0 0
5 0 0 0 0
6 .0 0
T im e - - >
8 .0 0
1 0 .0 0
1 2 .0 0
1 4 .0 0
1 6 .0 0
1 8 .0 0
2 0 .0 0
2 2 .0 0
2 4 .0 0
2 6 .0 0
2 8 .0 0
3 0 .0 0
3 2 .0 0
ACRYLAMIDE
Man-made chemical formed
spontaneously in carbohydrate
food at high temperature,
especially potato crisps and
coffee
Considered to be a probable
human carcinogen
Strongly associated with renal
cancers
Associated with postmenopausal endometrial and
ovarian cancer
Neurotoxic
The big public question is whether the amount of
acrylamide in foods is enough to lead to cancer?
DIOXIN
Some of the most toxic
chemicals known.
Formed during the burninh of
PVC and bleaching of paper
fibres.
Group 1 carcinogen according to
IARC
Fat soluble. Take 8 years for 50%
to exit body.
Causes mutations.
Teratogen.
Recently used as a poison
against President Viktor
Yushchenko of the Ukraine.
He suffered from a form of
persistent acne known as
chloracne
CADMIUM &
URANIUM
By-products of gold mining on
the Westrand in Gauteng
Waterways of the
Wonderboomspruit Catchment
contaminated
About 400 000 people living in
this area down to Carltonville
CANSA asked to investigate
possible cancer hazzard
Cadmium is a wellknown
cumulative carcinogen
Uranium, if taken up, is bound in
the skeleton where it can form
osteosarcomas over long
periods
SMOKE
Smoke contains PAHs (Polyaromatic-hydrocarbons)
Some such as benz[a]pyrene are
extremely carcinogenic and
cause lung cancers
Benz[a]pyrenes are also found in
wood smoke, coal smoke and
cars exhaust fumes
Millions of South Africans are
exposed to one or more of these
forms of smoke and the cancer
threat still needs to be
ascertained
Smoke should be avoided at all
times
ASBESTOS
Exposure can cause
mesothelioma
There are abandoned asbestos
mines
Asbestos has been used in
building materials that are now
getting old
CANSA needs to ascertain the
extent of asbestos threats in
South Africa today
DRINKING WATER
Dozens of chemicals may be
found in water that are
carcinogens
Modern technology makes it
possible to detect and measure
the quantity of these chemicals.
CANSA will outsource the testing
of drinking water from 8 cities in
South Africa.
The water will come from
buildings in which CANSA is
housed.
Results will be posted
periodically on the CANSA
website.
CANSA HOPES THAT THIS NEW INITIATIVE
WILL HELP TO REDUCE THE BURDEN OF
CANCER in SOUTH AFRICA
Change
Advocacy
Research