‘Forever’ chemicals in cookware linked to liver cancer in first human study

There’s growing evidence that regular exposure to man-made “forever” chemicals, which are used in a variety of household products, are linked to rising cancer rates.

A new study that examined the correlation between liver cancer and the presence of these chemicals in humans found that people with the highest levels of exposure have 350% greater odds of eventually developing the disease.

The term “forever” chemicals refers to the more than 4,700 available types of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, used widely across manufacturing industries — named as such because the substances degrade very slowly and build up over time, in soil, drinking water and in the body.

PFAS were first introduced in the 1930s as a revolutionary material used in the creation of nonstick cookware — hello, Teflon — and soon adapted to all sorts of products and packaging — from construction materials to cosmetics — that benefit from its liquid- and fire-resistant properties, as noted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Though incredibly useful, such chemicals have since been linked to the onset of cancer and other illnesses in lab animals. Following strong anecdotal evidence that perfluorooctanesulfonic acids (PFOS) alongside another common substance called perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) were making consumers sick, the Environmental Protection Agency in 2006 ordered eight multinational manufacturing corporations represented in the US to phase out the use of such chemicals. Nevertheless, as their nickname implies, PFOS and PFOA are still being detected in foreign products, in groundwater and in people.

The current study, published in JHEP Reports, is the first to show a clear association between any PFAS and nonviral hepatocellular carcinoma (the most common type of liver cancer) in humans, too.