Abstract C113: Parabens promote cell growth in cancer cell lines associated with health disparities
Authors: Tapia Jazma L. , McDonough Jillian C. , Erhunmwunsee Loretta , Trevino Lindsey S. 
Published: September 2024

Parabens are endocrine-disrupting chemicals used as preservatives to extend the shelf life of consumables, pharmaceuticals, and personal care products. Daily use of products containing parabens results in continuous exposure that can negatively impact health. It is known that parabens cause breast cancer cells to grow and express genes linked to cancer and hormone action. Our lab previously showed that parabens increase viability of and regulate estrogen-responsive gene expression in diverse luminal A breast cancer cell lines. In addition, greater effects were seen in a luminal A cell line of West African ancestry compared to one of European ancestry, suggesting that exposure to parabens in personal care products may contribute to breast cancer disparities. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate whether parabens increase cell viability across a variety of cancer cell types, particularly those associated with cancer disparities. To do so, we utilized the National Cancer Institute-60 (NCI-60) Human Tumor Cell Lines screen that includes leukemia, non-small cell lung (NSCL), colon, central nervous system (CNS), melanoma, ovarian, renal, prostate, and breast cancer cell lines, plus a custom panel of pancreatic cancer cell lines. Of these, ovarian, NSCL, prostate, colon, renal, CNS, and pancreatic cancers have known disparities. We treated these cancer cell lines with biologically relevant doses of butylparaben (BP), methylparaben (MP), or propylparaben (PP) (doses ranging from 0.0012 µM – 20 µM) for 72 hours and measured cell viability. Treatment with dimethylsulfoxide or 10 nM estradiol served as negative and positive controls, respectively. In general, we observed a paraben-specific and cell-line specific effect on cell viability. MP exhibited the greatest effect with increased cell viability in 42% of the cell lines, followed by PP (38%), and BP (32%). MP and PP are among the most common parabens found in personal care products and differences in urinary levels based on race/ethnicity (e.g. higher levels in non-Hispanic Blacks/Mexican Americans compared to non-Hispanic Whites) have been reported. Breast, ovarian, and NSCL had the most cell lines (67-83%) that exhibited increased cell viability with any paraben treatment. Increased cell viability was also observed in several leukemia, colon, pancreatic, CNS, and melanoma cell lines (33-50%). Only one renal, and no prostate, cell line exhibited increased cell viability. These data suggest that paraben-mediated protumorigenic effects may promote cancer disparities beyond breast cancer. Studies are currently underway to determine the mechanisms underlying this link. One caveat of this study is that most of the cell lines in this readily available screen are of European ancestry, highlighting a need to develop more genetically diverse in vitro models for understanding the mechanistic link between paraben exposures and cancer risk/outcomes in the context of disparities. Approaching this challenge from an endocrinology and genetic ancestry perspective may help narrow the disparity gap.

Citation Format: Jazma L. Tapia, Jillian C. McDonough, Loretta Erhunmwunsee, Lindsey S. Trevino. Parabens promote cell growth in cancer cell lines associated with health disparities [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 17th AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2024 Sep 21-24; Los Angeles, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2024;33(9 Suppl):Abstract nr C113.