New research links six pesticides to kidney cancer

Cases of renal cell carcinoma, a form of kidney cancer, have been steadily increasing in the United states for several decades. According to a study recently published in Environmental Health Perspectives, four herbicides and two insecticides were linked to this increase in people licensed to apply pesticides. The study is the largest and most comprehensive investigation of pesticide use and kidney cancer, analyzing data collected over 25 years from 55,873 farmers and other pesticide applicators in North Carolina and Iowa. Researchers studied 38 different pesticides and concluded that renal cell carcinoma increased with exposure to herbicides 2,4,5-T, atrazine, cyanazine and paraquat and insecticides chlorpyrifos and chlordane.

Read a summary of findings here and the published research here.