Can persistent pesticides cause any types of cancer?
Studies of organochlorine exposure have not definitively established a link between exposure and the development of cancer. Early studies of the persistent pesticide DDT found an association between levels in the body and breast cancer. However, more recent, larger studies have shown no increased risk of breast cancer due to exposures to DDT. Further, workers heavily exposed to DDT have not been shown to have an increased incidence of cancer. Some reports suggest a weak association between chlordane and heptachlor exposures and leukemias.
