Photoinitiators are chemicals that release reactive molecules in response to UV radiation. Given these properties, photoinitiators are used in a wide range of products, including plastics, paints, inks, and adhesives. As a result, photoinitiators are present in several objects of everyday use as well as in medical products and instruments such as dental fillers and containers.

Recently, studies have demonstrated several health hazards associated with photoinitiators, raising alarms about their safety. In particular, the presence of these compounds in clinical instruments, routinely used for treating high-risk individuals such as cancer patients, has become a major cause for concern. Previous studies have shown that three photoinitiators commonly found in plastics and paints -- 1-HCHPK, MBB, and MTMP -- show estrogen-like effects on cultured breast cancer cells, increasing their proliferation. Owing to the presence of these compounds in marketed injection solutions and the well-known link between estrogen activity and breast cancer, a thorough investigation of their effect on breast tumor growth is warranted.

Dr. Yoichi Kawasaki and Prof. Toshiaki Sendo from Okayama University in Japan sought to gain a better understanding of these effects. In their recent study published in Current Research in Toxicology, they examined how exposure to 1-HCHPK, MBB, and MTMP affected the growth of transplanted breast cancer tumors in mice. They found that all these compounds caused a faster increase in the growth of breast tumors, within 13 weeks of treatment. "This study extends our previous findings and shows that in addition to promoting the proliferation of breast cancer cells in culture, these photoinitiators also increase the growth of breast tumors in live animals. This implies that they could also potentially hasten disease progression in breast cancer patients," explains Dr. Kawasaki, who led the study.

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Kitty Williams

Journal of Thyroid Disorder and Therapy