Meta-Analysis of Body Concentration of Polychlorinated Biphenyls and Prostate Cancer

Abstract

Prostate Cancer (PCa) is the second most common hormone-sensitive neoplasm among men and the fifth cause of death due to malignancy in developed countries. Moreover, studies have shown the links between polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and hormone-related cancers such as prostate cancer. Hence, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to evaluate the potential relationship between the PCBs and developing PCa. In this meta-analysis study, the relevant databases such as Web of Science, PubMed, and Scopus were studied for English research. The Newcastle–Ottawa Scale was applied to evaluate the quality of the selected publications. The GRADE method was used to assess the risk of bias studies. After reviewing the relevant studies, a cohort and seven case–control studies entered the meta-analysis. These articles were published during 2003–2021 with 2989 participants and 1212 PCa cases. The heterogeneity among the studies was significant ( p = 0.001, I2 = 70.61). Using a random-effects model, the association between the serum and plasma levels of PCBs and the risk of PCa was not shown to be significant (OR = 1.12; 95% CI: 0.90–1.39). The results of Egger’s test showed no trace of publication bias in the studies (P of bias = 0.573). This systematic review and meta-analysis was presented based on relatively strong evidence and has confirmed negatively significant associations between PCa risk and some PCBs congeners (PCB 44, 52, and 101). This study does not provide strong evidence that total PCB exposure is a risk factor for PCa development in humans.

Theoretical Studies on the Quantitative Structure–Toxicity Relationship of Polychlorinated Biphenyl Congeners Reveal High Affinity Binding to Multiple Human Nuclear Receptors

“…It is noted how research into the carcinogenicity of PCBs primarily focuses on their activity on the estrogen receptor due to their ability to act as structural analogues of hormones [ 30 ], especially estrogen. This makes various hormone-sensitive tissues quite susceptible to the effects of PCBs, requiring research to be conducted on the potential adverse effects on these tissues (including cancer), such as the breast [ 26 , 31 , 32 ], prostate [ 33 , 34 , 35 ], and thyroid gland [ 36 , 37 , 38 ]. Overall, their function as endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) has been highlighted and seems to be the primary driving force behind research on PCBs.…”