Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-s2hrs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-17T14:55:15.346Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

14 - Environmental contaminants and cancers of the reproductive tract

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 February 2010

Tracey J. Woodruff
Affiliation:
University of California, San Francisco
Sarah J. Janssen
Affiliation:
University of California, San Francisco
Louis J. Guillette, Jr
Affiliation:
University of Florida
Linda C. Giudice
Affiliation:
University of California, San Francisco
Get access

Summary

This chapter discusses the major reproductive tract cancers that occur in the human population. In males, evidence for risks of testicular and prostate cancer as a function of exposure to endocrine disrupting agents is examined while in females, cancers of the breast, ovaries, and endometrium is evaluated. In men, chronically elevated estrogens have been associated with increased risk of prostate cancer. Similar to the prostate, breast cancer is a hormonally driven cancer and one major identified risk factor for breast cancer is an increased lifetime exposure to estrogens. Unlike ovarian cancer, endometrial cancer presents with symptoms such as unusual vaginal bleeding, abnormal discharge, and pelvic pain. Since a major risk factor for endometrial cancer is estrogen action unopposed by progesterone, exposure to estrogens or estrogen agonists from pesticides, herbicides, and other environmental contaminants have the potential to play a role in endometrial cancer initiation or promotion.
Type
Chapter
Information
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2010

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×