(MARCH 20, 2022) Thomas Ahern, Ph.D., M.P.H., associate professor of surgical research and biochemistry, was lead author on a recent study on phthalates and cancer published in the "Journal of the National Cancer Institute," according to a Salon.com report.
Thomas Ahern, Ph.D., M.P.H.
(MARCH 20, 2022) Thomas Ahern, Ph.D., M.P.H., associate professor of surgical research and biochemistry, was lead author on a recent study on medication-associated phthalate exposure and childhood cancer incidence highlighted in a Salon.com report titled “A Plastic Chemical You Can’t Escape Is Linked to Cancer in Children.” Led by UVM Cancer Center scientists and published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, the study revealed that phthalates -- substances added to plastics to increase the flexibility, transparency, durability, and longevity of myriad consumer products and thus found just about everywhere -- are linked to childhood cancers. (Although the scientists did demonstrate a correlation between the presence of phthalates and cancer, that in itself does not prove a causal link.)