U.S. study finds no firm cancer link to glyphosate
Article continues below
Published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, the study found there was no association between glyphosate, the main ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup, “and any solid tumours or lymphoid malignancies overall, including non-Hodgkin lymphoma and its subtypes.”
It said there was “some evidence of increased risk of acute myeloid leukaemia among the highest exposed group,” but added this association was not “statistically significant” and would require more research to be confirmed.
The findings are likely to affect legal proceedings taking place in the U.S. against Monsanto, in which more than 180 plaintiffs are claiming that exposure to Roundup gave them cancer, which Monsanto denies.
The findings may also influence a crucial decision due by the end of the year on whether glyphosate should be re-licensed for sale in the European Union.
EU countries had been scheduled to vote on the issue last week, but again failed to agree to a proposal for a five-year extension.
The EU decision has been delayed for several years after the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer reviewed glyphosate in 2015 and concluded it was “probably carcinogenic” to humans.
Other bodies, such as the European Food Safety Authority, have concluded glyphosate is safe to use. ■