MORTALITY FROM CANCER OF THE MALE REPRODUCTIVE-TRACT AND ENVIRONMENTAL EXPOSURE TO THE ANTIANDROGEN P,P'-DICHLORODIPHENYLDICHLOROETHYLENE IN THE UNITED-STATES

The association of prostate cancer mortality and testicular cancer mor tality with environmental exposure to the antiandrogen dichlorodipheny ltrichloroethane (DDT) derivative p,p'-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylen e (p,p'-DDE) in the USA was explored in the period 1971-1994 using mul tiple linear regression analysis. Environmental p,p'-DDE contamination by state was estimated by p,p'-DDE concentrations in the subcutaneous fat of population samples and by measurements of p,p'-DDE in tree bar k. On average, African Americans had adipose p,p'-DDE levels 74% highe r than Whites (8.49 vs. 4.88 mu g/g, p < 0.001). Neither prostate canc er mortality nor testicular cancer mortality showed a positive associa tion with either indicator of p,p'-DDE environmental contamination, On the contrary, the regression coefficient for prostate cancer was cons tantly inverse for adipose p,p'-DDE along the period of study, althoug h it approached statistical significance only for African Americans in 1981-1985 (beta = -0.755; 0.10 > p > 0,05), This ecologic study does not provide support to the hypothesis of a link between environmental exposure to DDT derivatives and cancer of the male reproductive tract.