The New Carcinogens

By Sora Song Sunday, Dec. 15, 2002
    • Last week, the U.S. government added steroidal estrogen — like the kind used in hormone-replacement therapy and birth control pills — to its list of "known human carcinogens," a catalog that also includes asbestos, tobacco and mustard gas. The Report on Carcinogens, issued every two years by the National Toxicology Program, associates steroidal estrogen with increased risk of endometrial and breast cancer, based on data from studies of HRT and birth-control pills. Still, scientists debate whether such treatments — which combine estrogen with other hormones — pose the same threat as estrogen alone. "If this concerns you, talk to your physician about it," says Dr. Christopher Portier, associate director of the NTP. Among the 14 other substances to make the NTP list: wood dust, common in sawmills and furniture-or cabinetmaking workshops; broad-spectrum ultraviolet radiation, from the sun or tanning beds; and IQ, a compound found in cigarette smoke that is also formed when foods like meats and eggs are cooked in high heat. For more detail, find the report online at niehs.nih.gov .