Historical endocrine disruptors : the convergence of basic biology, (eco)toxicology, clinical research and epidemiology

The concept of endocrine disruptor refers to exogenous compounds or mixtures capable of inducing adverse effects on an organism or its offspring by altering the functioning of the hormonal system. We will illustrate this by presenting research on a few specific substances. Distilbene, a drug prescribed to pregnant women between 1950 and 1977, is an example of a non-persistent synthetic estrogen which has been shown to increase the risk of breast cancer in exposed pregnant women, gynaecological cancer in women exposed in-utero, and probably congenital malformations in their offspring. DDT, whose effects were first revealed by ecotoxicological studies on wildlife, before cohort studies made it possible to address the question of its effects on humans, particularly as regards breast cancer, illustrates the problem of persistent organic pollutants.