Concerning new research suggests 50 common chemicals can cause cancer if combined.
A global taskforce of scientists studied the link between mixtures of chemicals the public is exposed to on a daily basis and the development of cancer, Brunel University of London reported.
"This research backs up the idea that chemicals not considered harmful by themselves are combining and accumulating in our bodies to trigger cancer and might lie behind the global cancer epidemic we are witnessing. We urgently need to focus more resources to research the effect of low dose exposure to mixtures of chemicals in the food we eat, air we breathe and water we drink," said cancer biologist Hemad Yasaei from Brunel University London.
The taskforce is not calling for more support for research into low dose exposures to environmental chemical mixtures. The research suggests these mixtures could be responsible for as many as five different types of cancer.
"Since so many chemicals that are unavoidable in the environment can produce low dose effects that are directly related to carcinogenesis, the way we've been testing chemicals (one at a time) is really quite out of date. Every day we are exposed to an environmental 'chemical soup', so we need testing that evaluates the effects of our ongoing exposure to these chemical mixtures," said William Goodson III, a senior scientist at the California Pacific Medical Center.
The findings were published in a recent edition of the journal Carcinogenesis.
