Effects of pesticides on the gut and their role in cancer development

Pesticides represent a class of chemicals used for the protection of agricultural products. Over the past years, the concern over their health impact has dramatically increased. Population-based studies have reported an association between pesticide exposure and the emergence of chronic diseases such as different types of cancers. Importantly, one population, which is particularly sensitive to pesticides, are young children. Exposure to pesticides, especially early during lifetime, is linked to an increased risk of developing different cancer types among which leukaemia, lymphomas and brain tumours in children. Along similar lines, pesticide exposure has been linked to various cancers in adults. Nevertheless, the mechanism of action of pesticides is still incompletely understood. In this project, we want to address if pesticides alter the microbiome and the intestinal barriers, thereby favouring inflammation and the development of cancers in children and adults. Furthermore, we aim at investigating how pesticides may affect the initiation, progression and therapy response of colon cancers using primary colon cancer cell lines and our established colon cancer patient collection. Ultimately, our results will help understanding how pesticides affect human health and help develop strategies to circumvent the deleterious effects of pesticides.

The project was coordinated by the University of Luxembourg and financially supported by the Fondation Cancer Luxembourg and the Fondatioun Kriibskrank Kanner.