Serum concentrations of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances and risk of renal cell carcinoma in the Multiethnic Cohort Study

Jongeun Rhee; Vicky C. Chang; Iona Cheng; Antonia M. Calafat; Julianne Cook Botelho; Joseph J. Shearer; Joshua N. Sampson; Veronica Wendy Setiawan; Lynne R. Wilkens; Debra T. Silverman; Mark P. Purdue; Jonathan N. Hofmann

Environment International (Oct 2023)

Serum concentrations of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances and risk of renal cell carcinoma in the Multiethnic Cohort Study

Jongeun Rhee,
Vicky C. Chang,
Iona Cheng,
Antonia M. Calafat,
Julianne Cook Botelho,
Joseph J. Shearer,
Joshua N. Sampson,
Veronica Wendy Setiawan,
Lynne R. Wilkens,
Debra T. Silverman,
Mark P. Purdue,
Jonathan N. Hofmann

Affiliations

Jongeun Rhee: Occupational and Environmental Epidemiology Branch, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, MD, USA
Vicky C. Chang: Occupational and Environmental Epidemiology Branch, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, MD, USA
Iona Cheng: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
Antonia M. Calafat: Organic Analytical Toxicology Branch, Division of Laboratory Sciences, National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA
Julianne Cook Botelho: Organic Analytical Toxicology Branch, Division of Laboratory Sciences, National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA
Joseph J. Shearer: Heart Disease Phenomics Laboratory, Epidemiology and Community Health Branch, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
Joshua N. Sampson: Biostatistics Branch, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, MD, USA
Veronica Wendy Setiawan: Department of Population and Public Health Sciences and Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Southern California, CA, USA
Lynne R. Wilkens: Population Sciences in the Pacific Program (Cancer Epidemiology), University of Hawaii Cancer Center, Honolulu, HI, USA
Debra T. Silverman: Occupational and Environmental Epidemiology Branch, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, MD, USA
Mark P. Purdue: Occupational and Environmental Epidemiology Branch, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, MD, USA
Jonathan N. Hofmann: Occupational and Environmental Epidemiology Branch, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, MD, USA; Corresponding author at: Occupational and Environmental Epidemiology Branch, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, Rockville, MD, USA.

Journal volume & issue: Vol. 180
p. 108197

Abstract

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Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are environmentally persistent organic pollutants detectable in the serum of most U.S. adults. We previously reported a positive association between serum perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) concentrations and risk of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) within the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and Ovarian (PLCO) Cancer Screening Trial, comprising predominantly White individuals enrolled in 1993–2001. To extend our investigations to a larger and more racially and ethnically diverse population, we conducted a nested case-control study of serum PFAS concentrations and RCC within the Multiethnic Cohort Study. We measured pre-diagnostic serum concentrations of nine PFAS among 428 RCC cases and 428 individually matched controls. We estimated odds ratios (ORs) and 95 % confidence intervals (CIs) for risk of RCC in relation to each PFAS using conditional logistic regression, adjusting for RCC risk factors and other PFAS. PFOA was not associated with RCC risk overall [doubling in serum concentration, ORcontinuous = 0.89 (95 %CI = 0.67, 1.18)]. However, we observed suggestive positive associations among White participants [2.12 (0.87, 5.18)] and among participants who had blood drawn before 2002 [1.49 (0.77, 2.87)]. Furthermore, higher perfluorononanoate (PFNA) concentration was associated with increased risk of RCC overall [fourth vs. first quartile, OR = 1.84 (0.97, 3.50), Ptrend = 0.04; ORcontinuous = 1.29 (0.97, 1.71)], with the strongest association observed among African American participants [ORcontinuous = 3.69 (1.33, 10.25)], followed by Native Hawaiian [2.24 (0.70, 7.19)] and White [1.98 (0.92, 4.25)] participants. Most other PFAS were not associated with RCC. While PFOA was not associated with RCC risk overall in this racially and ethnically diverse population, the positive associations observed among White participants and those with sera collected before 2002 are consistent with previous PLCO findings. Our study also provided new evidence of a positive association between PFNA and RCC risk that was strongest in African American participants. These findings highlight the need for additional epidemiologic research investigating PFAS exposures and RCC in large racially and ethnically diverse populations.

Published in Environment International

ISSN: 0160-4120 (Print)
Publisher: Elsevier
Country of publisher: United Kingdom
LCC subjects: Geography. Anthropology. Recreation: Environmental sciences
Website: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/environment-international

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