Bisphenols and Their Interaction with GPER-1: The Invisible Enemy Behind Breast Cancer and Its Societal Impact

Abstract

Bisphenols are chemical compounds of industrial origin found in a wide variety of everyday consumer products and have been detected in virtually all human biological fluids. Bisphenols, especially bisphenol A (BPA), can mimic hormone activity and act as endocrine disruptors through GPER-1, a G protein-coupled receptor, mainly located in the cell membrane and with a high affinity for estradiol, whose activity commands neoplastic cell proliferation and migration, promoting the development of breast cancer. Since in modern societies bisphenols are very common in the environment, their association with breast cancer affects not only individuals but also the general population. The detrimental impacts of these substances on public health, however, have not received enough attention because their molecular and cellular effects are imperceptible, and their manifestations only become apparent over the medium and long term.