An article in the journal Frontiers in Cancer Control and Society was titled, “Comprehensive Assessment of Pesticide Use Patterns and Increased Cancer Risk.” In it, researchers set out to “comprehensively evaluate” the relationship between pesticide use and cancer risk.

Pesticides are used to control and/or eliminate animal and plant life that can adversely affect agriculture or domestic life. And pesticides have been shown to improve crop yield. Organic farms where pesticides are not used have 15 percent to 50 percent lower yields compared to conventional farms that use pesticides.

In 2021, herbicides were applied to 96 percent of the corn crops in the United States. Estimates are that without pesticide use, fruit, vegetable, and cereal production would decline 32 percent to 78 percent.

However, research has shown that pesticides are far from safe. Exposure to these chemicals increases the risk of developing neurological disorders such as Parkinson’s disease. They can also alter a person’s immunity.

Other studies showed that pesticide exposure is associated with an increased risk of childhood cancer as well as adult cancers of the colon, rectum, lung, and pancreas. Furthermore, research has demonstrated a direct relationship between pesticide exposure and lymphomas and leukemias.

Many different pesticides have been linked to cancer. This study correlated the use of pesticides with cancer incidence. The authors point out that most individuals are not only exposed to a single pesticide but rather a cocktail of chemicals specific to the land use and type of crop produced in their area of residence.

The authors reported, “Overall, our study showed that elevated risk pesticide use is associated with an increased risk of all the cancers evaluated. The effects of pesticides on cancer types were more significant than the effects of smoking.”

For colorectal cancer, smoking and pesticide exposure were the two greatest risk factors for developing the disease. The authors concluded their study by stating, “Our findings show that the impact of pesticide use on cancer incidence may rival that of smoking. Geographic trends showed that counties with higher agricultural productivity, such as the leading corn-producing states of the Midwest, also have increased cancer risk due to pesticide exposure.”