Blood levels of organochlorine pesticide residues and risk of reproductive tract cancer among women from Jaipur, India.

Residues of organochlorine pesticides are integral part of our environment. Because of their strong lipophilic and non-biodegradable nature, organisms at higher trophic levels in the food chain tend to accumulate them. The aim of the present study was to assess the influence of organochlorine pesticides upon the occurrence of reproductive tract cancers in women from Jaipur, India. Blood samples were collected from 150 females. In that group, 100 females suffered from reproductive tract cancers like cervical, uterine, vaginal and ovarian cancers, while the rest did not suffer from cancers or any other major disease and were treated as control group. The collected blood samples were subjected to pesticide extraction and analyzed with the help of gas chromatography. The pesticides detected were benzene hexa chlororide and its isomers, dieldrin, heptachlor, dichloro diphenyl trichloro ethane and its metabolites. The data obtained indicate that the organochlorine pesticide residue levels were significantly higher in all the cancer patients as compared with the control group.

Breast cancer incidence and exposure to pesticides among women originating from Jaipur.

Environmental contamination by pesticides has been documented in biotic and abiotic components. These persistent organic pollutants are lipid soluble, nonbiodegradable, and endocrine disrupters. The present study was therefore planned to determine whether the levels of these pesticides like DDT and its metabolites DDD and DDE, dieldrin, heptachlor, and HCH and its isomers (alpha, beta, and gamma) were higher in blood of breast cancer patients when compared with normal women who did not suffer from major diseases like blood pressure, tuberculosis, diabetes, thyroid dysfunction, arthritis, cancer, etc. and had not undergone any major surgery. The results indicated that organochlorine pesticides taken for analysis were found significantly high in breast cancer patients irrespective of age, diet, and geographic distribution.