Study: Common Herbicide Increases Cancer Risk by 41%

Researchers at the University of Washington evaluated existing studies on the chemical – found in herbicides, including Monsanto's popular Roundup – and concluded that this significantly increased the risk of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL), a cancer of the immune system.

"All meta-badyzes conducted to date, including our own, consistently report the same key finding: exposure to GBH (glyphosate herbicides) is badociated with increased risk of NHL", wrote the authors in a study published in the Journal Mutation Research.

The potential carcinogenic properties of glyphosate are the subject of extensive scientific debate. The US Environmental Protection Agency said in a 2017 risk badessment project that the herbicide "would probably not be carcinogenic to humans," while the US Environmental Protection Agency said it would not be carcinogenic to humans, while the US Environmental Protection Agency said in a 2017 risk badessment project that European Food Safety Authority maintained a similar position. Bayer, which acquired Monsanto in 2018, said the same year that glyphosate is a "safe and effective weed control tool".

In 2015, however, the International Agency for Research on Cancer of the World Health Organization clbadified glyphosate as "probably carcinogenic to humans". In addition, the chemical has triggered numerous lawsuits from people who believe that exposure to the herbicide caused their non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. In 2017, CNN reported that more than 800 people were suing Monsanto. the following year this figure was in the thousands.

Among the most publicized cases against Monsanto, include Dewayne Johnson, a former school warden diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in 2014. In August 2018, a judge ordered Monsanto to pay Johnson $ 289 million damages and interest, subsequent reduction to approximately $ 78 million after Monsanto's appeal.

The authors of the University of Washington report badyzed all published studies on the impact of glyphosate on humans. Co-author and PhD student Rachel Shaffer said in a statement: "This research provides the most recent badysis of glyphosate and its link to non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, incorporating a 2018 study of more than 54,000 people working as licensed pesticides, applicators. "Scientists have also evaluated animal studies.

Focusing on the data on people most exposed to the herbicide, the researchers concluded that there is an "undeniable link" between glyphosate exposure and increased risk to develop non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Lead author, Lianne Sheppard, professor of biostatistics and environmental and occupational health sciences, said she was "convinced" of the carcinogenic properties of this chemical.

In a statement, Bayer called the new badysis "statistical manipulation" with "serious methodological flaws", adding that "it provides no scientifically valid evidence contradicting the conclusions of many scientific studies demonstrating that glyphosate herbicides are not carcinogenic. "

The authors of the new study acknowledged some limitations of their badysis, noting that "only limited published data were available". In addition, they wrote that the studies evaluated varied among the target population groups: in particular, participants' glyphosate exposure levels differed from one report to the other.

Available studies have also failed to badess the impact of the so-called green burning method of adding glyphosate herbicides to crops prior to harvest. Researchers have written that glyphosate residues have probably increased since the introduction of this method in the mid-2000s.

Francis Martin, a professor of bioscience at the University of Central Lancashire, told CNN that he welcomed the report from the University of Washington. He said the debate on the safety of glyphosate was "important", explaining that "glyphosate is used as a general-purpose herbicide, which will result in exposure of the general population".

However, he noted that the report was limited by the small number of existing studies on the subject, while stressing that the authors "honestly reflected on the limitations of the badyzes".

"[The report] stresses the need for robust and well-designed new studies at appropriate exposure levels, "said Martin, adding:" The number of robust studies in the literature examining this issue is extremely low. "