Study reveals breast cancer-DEHP link20-YEAR STUDY: High exposure to the widely used plasticizer, metabolic susceptibility and onset of menstruation before age 14 increases breast cancer risks by seven timesBy Yang Mien-chieh / Staff reporterA 20-year follow-up study showed that high exposure to the plasticizer di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), metabolic susceptibility and early menarche can increase breast cancer risk by up to seven times among women, Academia Sinica said yesterday. A graphic from Academia Sinica’s Genomics Research Center’s research on breast cancer risk is pictured in an undated photograph. Women with high MEHP% and high exposure to DEHP are 2.68 times more likely to develop breast cancer, she said. When combined with the risk factor of early onset of menstruation (under 14 years old), the risk of developing breast cancer rises to 7.52 times, she said. Local and international studies have not yet recognized the importance of MEHP%, so this discovery offers a new entry point for future breast cancer risk assessment, she added.

Source: Taipei Times March 17, 2026 20:11 UTC