ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Toxicol.
Sec. Developmental and Reproductive Toxicology
Volume 7 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/ftox.2025.1579952
This article is part of the Research TopicFrom North to South: A Global Perspective on the Impact of Endocrine Disruptors on Reproductive Development and FunctionView all articles
Residential Proximity to Agricultural Fields, Urinary Glyphosate Levels and Breast Cancer Risk: A Case-Control Study in Argentina.RESIDENTIAL PROXIMITY, URINARY GLYPHOSATE LEVELS AND BREAST CANCER RISK: A CASE-CONTROL STUDY IN ARGENTINA
Provisionally accepted
Florencia Doná1
Virginia Lorenz1
Georgina Stegmayer2
Tamara Ricardo3
Stefanía D’Iorio4
Fernando Ponzo5
María Rosa Repetti6
Luisina Delma Demonte6
María Mercedes Milesi1
Jorgelina Varayoud1*- 1Instituto de Salud y Ambiente del Litoral (ISAL), Universidad Nacional del Litoral (UNL), Santa Fe, Argentina
- 2Facultad de Ingeniería y Ciencias Hídricas, Universidad Nacional del Litoral, Santa Fe, Argentina
- 3Instituto Nacional de Epidemiologia Dr. Juan H. Jara, ANLIS Malbrán., Mar del Plata, Argentina
- 4Departamento de Matemática, Facultad de Bioquímica y Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Nacional del Litoral, Santa Fe, Argentina
- 5Servicio de Ginecología, Hospital José María Cullen, Santa Fe, Argentina
- 6Programa de Investigación y Análisis de Residuos y Contaminantes Químicos, Universidad Nacional del Litoral, Santa Fe, Argentina
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Despite accumulated evidence indicating glyphosate herbicide (GLY) presents endocrine disrupting properties, there are still discrepancies. Moreover, few epidemiological studies have focused on hormone-related pathologies. This work aimed to investigate the associations between urinary GLY levels and breast cancer (BC) in women from a region of intense agricultural activity in Argentina, exploring residential proximity to agricultural fields as a potential risk factor for BC. This was a case-control study that involved 90 women from different populations in the Province of Santa Fe, Argentina. Demographic data, lifestyle factors, and residential history were obtained through a questionnaire, while medical outcomes and reproductive history were acquired from medical records. Spot urine samples were collected and the concentrations of GLY and its primary metabolite, aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA) were quantified by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry. Odds ratios were estimated to assess the strength of the association between the case/control type and each predictor. GLY concentrations were above the limit of detection (LOD) in 86.1% of samples, with a range of 0.37 - 10.07 µg GLY/g creatinine. AMPA was not detected in any of the samples analyzed. Although urinary GLY concentrations showed no differences between the case and control groups, women residing near agricultural fields showed an increased risk of BC (OR: 7.38, 95% CI: 2.74 – 21.90). These original findings show the ubiquitous presence of GLY in adult women from Argentina. Interestingly, women living near agricultural fields have a higher risk of BC, suggesting that exposure not only to GLY but also to agrochemicals in general, could predispose to the development of BC in Argentina. While this study provides valuable insights, further and broader assessments of BC distribution in relation to agrochemical exposure acroos different regions of Argentina are needed.
Keywords: aminomethylphosphonic acid, BC: Breast cancer, BMI: Body Mass Index, CI: confidence interval, EFSA: European Food Safety Authority, EPA: Environmental Protection Agency, GLY: glyphosate, IARC: International Agency for Research on Cancer
Received: 19 Feb 2025; Accepted: 12 May 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Doná, Lorenz, Stegmayer, Ricardo, D’Iorio, Ponzo, Repetti, Demonte, Milesi and Varayoud. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Jorgelina Varayoud, Instituto de Salud y Ambiente del Litoral (ISAL), Universidad Nacional del Litoral (UNL), Santa Fe, Argentina
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