Short-Chain Polychlorinated Alkanes Exposure and Risk of Thyroid Cancer in a Population-Based Case-Control Study
Exposure to short-chain polychlorinated alkanes (PCAs-C<sub>10-13</sub>) can disturb thyroid homeostasis, warranting an in-depth analysis of their relationship with thyroid risk and related clinical parameters. This study recruited and obtained serum samples from 478 participants in Shandong, China, including 240 thyroid cancer patients and 238 healthy controls. PCAs-C<sub>10</sub> presented as the predominant homologues in both case and control groups. PCAs-C<sub>10-13</sub> exposure displayed an essential role in thyroid cancer risk, in which a nonlinear dose-risk relationship was observed for PCAs-C<sub>10-13</sub>, with PCAs-C<sub>12</sub> and PCAs-C<sub>13</sub> exhibiting significantly reduced risks (odds ratios < 1) for thyroid cancer. Specific PCAs-C<sub>10-13</sub> homologues were significantly associated with triglycerides, cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and total lipid in the control group. Weighted quantile sum regression and Bayesian kernel machine regression revealed predominantly negative combined effects of PCAs-C<sub>10-13</sub> exposure on thyroid cancer, thyroid hormone, and serum lipid parameters. Our results showed that exposure to the current environmental level of PCAs-C<sub>10-13</sub> cannot heighten risks of thyroid cancer. Overall, this study first provides epidemiological evidence on the potential implications of PCAs-C<sub>10-13</sub> exposure and thyroid cancer risk.
Authors
- Jiyan Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7553-3325)
- Gaoxin Zhang
- Lingling Meng (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5576-5842)
- Xiaoling Guan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0332-7482)
- Yingming Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4261-9744)
- An Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8476-8783)
- Mary Turyk (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2796-311X)
- Qinghua Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5591-9776)
- Guibin Jiang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6335-3917)
- Mei Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0009-8210-0382)
Institutions
- Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN)
- University of Illinois Chicago (US)
- Institute for Advanced Study (DE)
- Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences (CN)
- Shandong Provincial QianFoShan Hospital (CN)
- Shandong First Medical University (CN)
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN)
- State Key Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology
Publication Details
- Journal
- Environment & Health
- Published
- 2025-05-02
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1021/envhealth.5c00044
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- Toxic Organic Pollutants Impact
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 1.20
Funders
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- Chinese Academy of Sciences