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"Cancer has no direct relation with pesticides", says Brazilian authority on toxicological pathology
Dec. 21, 2018
By Leonardo Gottems, reporter for AgroPages
"With regard to pesticides on the market, available evidence does not support the existence of a direct and causal association between cancer rates in humans and occupational exposure or diet", according to Professor of Pathology João Lauro Viana de Camargo, a toxicological pathologist.
De Camargo explains that some chemicals may actually be carcinogenic to the human species. Accordingly, their synthesis, handling and use must be subject to strict safety standards and procedures.
"There are repeated reports of possible associations, but they are inconsistent due to scientific deficiencies, including flaws in the design of studies, a deficiency in the composition of exposed groups and their controls, poor determination of exposure (doses), and poorly characterized cancer diagnoses, he points out in a report produced as part of the Agro Science and Technology initiative.
On the whole, notes de Camargo, these deficiencies "weaken the weight of evidence on the causal association between cancer and pesticides. Important and frequently overlooked aspects to define a cause-and-effect relationship are the identification of the mode / mechanism of action (genotoxicity, oxidative stress, endocrine disruption, etc.) by which a pesticide would cause cancer in man and, when evidence is obtained from laboratory animals if the results obtained from those animals are extrapolated to the human species ".
In the view of de Camargo, risk and / or risk assessments by regulatory agencies around the world "are making the detection and management of molecules that could cause cancer in humans more effective." According to a toxicological pathologist, risk management is the most realistic and operational tool.
"The effort made over the last 30 to 40 years to harmonize global hazard and pesticide risk assessment procedures, and disseminate the results of these practices, has raised awareness among health authorities, the productive sector, researchers and public opinion, about the possibility of chemical risks being managed," he says.
Camargo is a member of the roster of Joint Meeting of Pesticides (JMPR) of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO/WHO). He is also a member of the editorial boards of renowned scientific journals, such as the International Scholarly Research Network, Toxicology and the European Journal of Toxicological Sciences.
Source: AgroNews
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