Common Food Contaminant May Cause Testicular Cancer

Common Food Contaminant May Cause Testicular Cancer

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.--Scientists from the Comprehensive Cancer Center of Wake Forest University hypothesized that ochratoxin A, a naturally occurring food contaminant, is a risk factor for testicular cancer. According to a study printed in the February issue of Cancer Causes and Control (13, 1:91-100, 2002) (www.kluweronline.com), dietary ochratoxin A is linked to a high incidence of testicular cancer among young men in northern Europe, with an increased incidence over time, and poor semen quality.

Researchers tested ochratoxin A using ecologic data on the per capita consumption of cereals, coffee and pork--the principal dietary sources of the contaminant. They found that incidence rates for testicular cancer in 20 countries were significantly correlated with the per capita consumption of coffee and pork. Scientists noted that exposure to dietary ochratoxin A during pregnancy or childhood induced lesions in testicular DNA and that puberty promoted these lesions to become testicular cancer. Researchers concluded that the ochratoxin A hypothesis offers a coherent explanation for much of the descriptive epidemiology of testicular cancer and suggests new avenues for analytic research.