Q&A: Are environmental chemicals and endometrial cancer linked?
Penn State researchers are investigating how environmental exposures may contribute to endometrial cancer, with a focus on endocrine-disrupting chemicals and rural women’s health. Credit: Adobe Stock.
Researchers at Penn State are investigating whether exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals in the environment may play a role in the development of endometrial cancer, particularly among women in rural communities. The project was recently funded through the Penn State College of Medicine’s Judith Weisz Reproductive Environmental Health Fund, which supports research by Penn State obstetrics and gynecology faculty on environmental factors that affect reproductive health. The team combines clinical expertise in women’s health with advanced environmental chemical analysis to better understand how these exposures may influence disease risk.
August 11, 2026Penn State College of Medicine News
In this Q&A, Shaina Bruce, an obstetrician and gynecologist at Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center and assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology in the College of Medicine, and Odette Mina, director of laboratories at the Institute of Energy and the Environment, discussed the goals of the study, why it focuses on women in rural communities and how Penn State’s Environmental Contaminants Analytical Laboratory will support the research by analyzing environmental chemicals in biological samples.
Q: What are endocrine-disrupting chemicals, and why are you studying them in relation to endometrial cancer?
Bruce: Endocrine-disrupting chemicals, or EDCs, are chemicals in our environment that can interfere with the body’s hormone system. Hormones help regulate many important functions, including growth, metabolism and reproduction. These chemicals are found in many everyday products and throughout the environment, but we still know relatively little about how they may affect women’s reproductive health
Endometrial cancer develops in the lining of the uterus and is strongly influenced by hormones, particularly estrogen. Although obesity is the strongest known risk factor, it doesn’t fully explain why some women develop the disease while others do not. We are interested in whether environmental chemical exposures may also contribute to changes in the uterus that increase cancer risk
Q: Where do people commonly encounter these chemicals in everyday life?
Mina: People encounter endocrine-disrupting chemicals in many routine settings, often without realizing it. These substances can be found in plastic food containers and packaging, personal care products, cleaning supplies, household dust, furniture, electronics and even some drinking water and foods. Because these chemicals are so widespread, exposure can occur repeatedly over time
The main exposure pathways are ingestion, inhalation and skin contact. People may ingest these chemicals through contaminated food or water, inhale them from indoor air or dust, or absorb them through the skin from cosmetics, lotions, fragrances and other consumer products. In many cases, people are exposed through multiple periods
Q: How does your lab analyze samples from people exposed to environmental chemicals?
Mina: Penn State’s Environmental Contaminants Analytical Laboratory is well equipped to analyze environmental chemicals in urine, serum and tissue samples. The lab will use standardized sample preparation methods, including tissue homogenization and extraction and cleanup procedures, to isolate trace levels of chemicals from these complex biological samples. These methods are well suited for environmental exposure research because they provide sensitive, reproducible measurements of contaminants at very low concentrations in specimens that reflect both recent exposures, such as urine and serum, and longer-term accumulation, such as tissue.
We will use advanced lab instruments to separate, detect and measure chemicals in complex samples. These systems can look for specific known contaminants as well as screen for a wider range of environmental pollutants and endocrine-disrupting chemicals, including per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), pesticides, plasticizers and other exposure-related compounds. Together, these tools will help produce reliable measurements across multiple biological sample types and improve understanding of environmental exposure patterns.
Q: Why is this study focusing on women living in rural communities?
Bruce: Women living in rural communities are exposed to many of the same everyday environmental chemicals as everyone else, including those found in plastics, food packaging and personal care products. They may also have additional exposures through agricultural activities, pesticide use and private well water, depending on where they live and work. Together, these factors may create exposure profiles that differ from those typically seen in suburban or urban populations
Central Pennsylvania is an ideal place to study these questions because Penn State Health serves many patients from rural and agricultural communities, creating an important opportunity for College of Medicine researchers to study how environmental exposures may shape women’s health
Q: What makes this study different from others that have analyzed chemical exposure in blood or urine samples?
Bruce: Measuring chemicals in blood or urine tells us whether someone has been exposed, but it doesn’t tell us what those chemicals may be doing inside the body. Our study takes the next step by examining tissue from the uterus itself
Because women in our study are already having hysterectomy surgery as part of their medical care, we have a unique opportunity to determine whether higher environmental exposures are associated with changes in the molecular pathways that control hormone signaling, inflammation and cell growth within the uterus. Understanding what happens in the target tissue may provide important clues about how environmental exposures influence the biological processes that lead to disease
Q: What is the goal for this line of research?
Bruce: This is an early, exploratory study, so we are not expecting to prove that any particular chemical causes endometrial cancer. However, if we identify patterns linking environmental exposures with biological changes in the uterus, those findings would provide important evidence to support larger studies
Over time, this research could help us identify exposures that people may be able to reduce or avoid. It could also help researchers and clinicians better understand who may be at higher risk and ultimately inform new strategies to prevent endometrial cancer and improve women’s health
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