Evidence mapPaperPMID 40902259Full record

ArticleEnvironment international2025

Exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances during fetal development and risk of testicular germ cell cancer in adulthood.

Cecilie S Uldbjerg, Youn-Hee Lim, Astrid L Beck, Jørgen H Petersen, Karina M Sørensen, David M Kristensen, Panu Rantakokko, Brent A Coull, Christian Lindh, Niels E Skakkebæk and 4 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Environment international, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances in Early Life Are Associated With Childhood Intestinal Inflammation: Analyses of Three Birth Cohorts.Clinical gastroenterology and hepatology : the official clinical practice journal of the American Gastroenterological Association · 2026
    Article
  2. Review
  3. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

14 authors.

Cecilie S UldbjergDepartment of Growth and Reproduction, Copenhagen University Hospital - Rigshospitalet, University of Copenhagen, Denmark; International Centre for Research and Research Training in Endocrine Disruption of Male Reproduction and Child Health (EDMaRC), Copenhagen University Hospital - Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark. Electronic address: cecilie.skaarup.uldbjerg@regionh.dk.
Youn-Hee LimSection of Environmental Health, Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Astrid L BeckDepartment of Growth and Reproduction, Copenhagen University Hospital - Rigshospitalet, University of Copenhagen, Denmark; International Centre for Research and Research Training in Endocrine Disruption of Male Reproduction and Child Health (EDMaRC), Copenhagen University Hospital - Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Jørgen H PetersenDepartment of Growth and Reproduction, Copenhagen University Hospital - Rigshospitalet, University of Copenhagen, Denmark; International Centre for Research and Research Training in Endocrine Disruption of Male Reproduction and Child Health (EDMaRC), Copenhagen University Hospital - Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark; Section of Biostatistics, Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.
Karina M SørensenDanish National Biobank, Statens Serum Institut, Denmark.
David M KristensenDepartment of Growth and Reproduction, Copenhagen University Hospital - Rigshospitalet, University of Copenhagen, Denmark; International Centre for Research and Research Training in Endocrine Disruption of Male Reproduction and Child Health (EDMaRC), Copenhagen University Hospital - Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark; Roskilde University, Department of Science and Environment, Roskilde, Denmark.
Panu RantakokkoDepartment of Public Health, Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, Kuopio, Finland.
Brent A CoullDepartment of Biostatistics, T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Harvard University, USA.
Christian LindhDivision of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
Niels E SkakkebækDepartment of Growth and Reproduction, Copenhagen University Hospital - Rigshospitalet, University of Copenhagen, Denmark; International Centre for Research and Research Training in Endocrine Disruption of Male Reproduction and Child Health (EDMaRC), Copenhagen University Hospital - Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark; Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Russ HauserDepartment of Environmental Health, T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Harvard University, USA.
Elvira V BräunerDepartment of Growth and Reproduction, Copenhagen University Hospital - Rigshospitalet, University of Copenhagen, Denmark; International Centre for Research and Research Training in Endocrine Disruption of Male Reproduction and Child Health (EDMaRC), Copenhagen University Hospital - Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Lærke PriskornDepartment of Growth and Reproduction, Copenhagen University Hospital - Rigshospitalet, University of Copenhagen, Denmark; International Centre for Research and Research Training in Endocrine Disruption of Male Reproduction and Child Health (EDMaRC), Copenhagen University Hospital - Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Anders JuulDepartment of Growth and Reproduction, Copenhagen University Hospital - Rigshospitalet, University of Copenhagen, Denmark; International Centre for Research and Research Training in Endocrine Disruption of Male Reproduction and Child Health (EDMaRC), Copenhagen University Hospital - Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark; Department of Clinical Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.

Funding

NCI NIH HHS R01 CA236816
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundTesticular germ cell cancer (TGCC) originates during fetal life. Fetal exposure to environmental chemicals may contribute to its development, but epidemiological data are lacking. We investigated per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), which can act as endocrine disruptors during fetal development, and TGCC risk in adulthood.

methodsWe conducted a nested case-control study of 549 mother-male offspring pairs (103 TGCC cases, 446 matched controls). The source population included over 100,000 pregnant women with biobanked serum samples collected during 1985-1994, a period before PFAS restrictions. Male offspring were followed for up to 38 years, and TGCC cases were identified from the Danish Cancer Registry based on histological confirmation. Eight PFAS were quantified in maternal serum using LC-MS/MS. Associations between individual PFAS and their mixtures with TGCC risk were assessed through Cox regression and quantile g-computation models.

resultsAssociations between individual PFAS and TGCC risk were modest and not statistically significant. Hazard ratios (HRs) for perfluoroalkyl sulfonic acids (PFOS, PFHxS, PFHpS) suggested higher TGCC risks per quartile increase in concentrations, but lower risks for perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids (PFOA, PFNA, PFDA, PFHpA, PFUnDA). Mixture analyses supported this pattern, with higher TGCC risk for the joint effect of sulfonic acids (HR 1.13, 95 % CI: 0.89; 1.44). Stratified analyses by histological subtype showed higher risk for seminomas than for nonseminomas across all PFAS.

conclusionsWe found limited evidence of an association between fetal PFAS exposure and TGCC risk. Indications of a potential adverse effect of perfluoroalkyl sulfonic acids, particularly for seminomas, merit further research.

Indexed as

Environmental PollutantsFetal DevelopmentFluorocarbonsMaternal ExposureNeoplasms, Germ Cell and EmbryonalPrenatal Exposure Delayed EffectsTesticular NeoplasmsAdultAlkanesulfonic AcidsCase-Control StudiesDenmarkEndocrine DisruptorsFemaleHumansMalePregnancyAlkanesulfonic AcidsEndocrine DisruptorsEnvironmental PollutantsFluorocarbonsFetal programmingMaternal serumPer- and polyfluoroalkyl substancesPregnancyTesticular germ cell cancer

Identifiers

PMID40902259
PMCPMC12580792

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.