Plastic Chemical May Interfere With Chemotherapy

A chemical widely used in hard plastic drinking bottles and the lining of food cans may reduce the effectiveness of chemotherapy treatment, a new study shows.

he findings, reported in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, adds to the growing list of concerns about bisphenol-a, or BPA, a chemical used to make the hard, clear and nearly unbreakable plastic called polycarbonate. The plastic is also found in the lining of nearly every soft drink and canned food product.

In the latest research, a team from the University of Cincinnati studied human breast cancer cells, subjecting them to low levels of BPA similar to those found in the blood of adults. They found that BPA acts on cancer cells similar to the way estrogen does — by inducing proteins that protect the cells from chemotherapy agents.

“It’s actually acting by protecting existing cancer cells from dying in response to anti-cancer drugs, making chemotherapy significantly less effective,” said Nira Ben-Jonathan, a professor of cancer and cell biology who has studied BPA for more than 10 years.

“These data,” study authors write, “provide considerable support to the accumulating evidence that BPA is hazardous to human health.”

Glass is the only packaging material to be categorized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as “generally recognized as safe” (GRAS).

Currently the consuming public recognizes and accepts glass containers as being the best option to conserve the qualities and attributes of their contents, since flavors do not migrate and they provide greater cleanliness and hygiene.

Vitro is a socially responsible company that has worked for nearly a century with glass, a material that is 100% recyclable and inert on contact with its contents; food, beer & wine, liquor, beverages, perfumes, fragrances and pharmaceuticals.