ArticleEnvironmental research2021
PFAS and cancer, a scoping review of the epidemiologic evidence.
Article in Environmental research, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 162 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
162 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances and breast cancer risk: a systematic review and meta-analysis of epidemiologic studies.American journal of epidemiology · 2024Pooled it
- Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) exposure and thyroid cancer: Systematic review and meta-analysis.Toxicology letters · 2024Pooled it
- Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, polychlorinated biphenyls, organochlorine pesticides, and polybrominated diphenyl ethers and dysregulation of MicroRNA expression in humans and animals-A systematic review.Environmental research · 2024Pooled it
- Per- and Poly-fluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) Exposure and Risk of Kidney, Liver, and Testicular Cancers: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.La Medicina del lavoro · 2023Pooled it
- Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in Integrated Crop-Livestock Systems: Environmental Exposure and Human Health Risks.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Pooled it
- Effect of Plasma and Blood Donations on Levels of Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances in Firefighters in Australia: A Randomized Clinical Trial.JAMA network open · 2022Trial
- Pediatric effects of forever chemicals may last for a long time.Pediatric research · 2026Review
- In utero PFAS exposure, inflammation, and behavioral problems in childhood.Environmental research · 2026Article
- Mortality study of a PFOA-exposed cohort in the mid-Ohio Valley.Environment international · 2026Article
- Use of a capillary blood collection device to monitor exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in Veterans living in proximity to potential sources of environmental contamination.Journal of exposure science & environmental epidemiology · 2026Article
- Article
- AEnvironment & health (Washington, D.C.) · 2026Article
- Differences in PFAS exposure between Pacific pinnipeds: The Galapagos (Zalophus wollebaeki) and California (Zalophus californianus) sea lions.Marine pollution bulletin · 2026Article
- Inclusion Complexation of Native and Functionalized α-, β-, and γ-Cyclodextrins with PFAS: An Experimental and Molecular Simulation Study.The journal of physical chemistry. B · 2026Article
- Spatial analysis of residential location at birth, PFAS in public water, and childhood cancers in Southern California (2000-2019).Journal of exposure science & environmental epidemiology · 2026Article
- Exposure to perfluorooctanoic acid acceleratesbioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Analysis of in vitro profiling data of cosmetic ingredients within the Tox21 10K compound library for bioactivity and potential toxicity.BMC pharmacology & toxicology · 2026Article
- A Liquid-Liquid Extraction Method for Measuring Ultrashort PFCAs and Longer-Chain PFAS in Water.Analytical chemistry · 2026Article
- Occupation and serum concentrations of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances: data from the 2013 to 2014 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.Annals of work exposures and health · 2026Article
- Multi-omics analysis of perfluorooctanoic acid and glioblastoma: insights from Mendelian randomization, network toxicology, and molecular docking.Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's archives of pharmacology · 2026Article
102 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundThe number of studies addressing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and cancer is increasing. Many communities have had water contaminated by PFAS, and cancer is one of the important community concerns related to PFAS exposure.
objectivesWe critically reviewed the evidence relating to PFAS and cancer from an epidemiologic standpoint to highlight directions for future research that would be the most likely to meaningfully increase knowledge.
methodsWe conducted a search in PubMed for studies of cancer and PFAS (through 9/20/2020). We identified epidemiologic studies that provided a quantitative estimate for some measure of the association between PFAS and cancer. Here, we review that literature, including several aspects of epidemiologic study design that impact the usefulness of study results.
resultsWe identified 16 cohort (or case-cohort) studies, 10 case-control studies (4 nested within cohorts and 6 non-nested), 1 cross sectional study and 1 ecologic study. The cancer sites with the most evidence of an association with PFAS are testicular and kidney cancer. There are also some suggestions in a few studies of an association with prostate cancer, but the data are inconsistent. DISCUSSION: Each study's design has strengths and limitations. Weaknesses in study design and methods can, in some cases, lead to questionable associations, but in other cases can make it more difficult to detect true associations, if they are present. Overall, the evidence for an association between cancer and PFAS remains sparse. A variety of studies with different strengths and weaknesses can be helpful to clarify associations between PFAS and cancer. Long term follow-up of large-sized cohorts with large exposure contrasts are most likely to be informative.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.