Can DDT and DDE cause cancer including leukemia?
DDT and DDE could possibly cause cancer in humans. This is based on several studies in animals and humans. Liver cancer occurred in lab mice that were fed large amounts of DDT. Some studies in humans linked DDT levels in the body with breast cancer, but other studies have not made this link. Other studies in humans have linked exposure to DDT/DDE with having lymphoma, leukemia, and pancreatic cancer. No definitive association with these cancers has been made. Workers heavily exposed to DDT have not had more cancer than workers not exposed to DDT.
