In the past few decades an increasing number of cases of diseases related to endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) have been reported. More than 350 synthetic molecules are present in the environment, many of them found in pesticides formulations. Carcinogenesis is a slow process, which can start very early (even in uterus) under the action of initiating agents as a result of a mutation or epigenetic modification, expressing itself later in life as the effect of promoting agents, such as estrogens in the case of women and androgens in men.
Considering epidemiological and agricultural health studies associated with exposure to pesticides, different types of neoplasms have been reported, including bone, brain carcinomas, among others, as well as non-Hodgkin lymphomas. In the specific case of bone sarcomas, an interesting collaborative European study found that workers that use pesticides have a greatest risk of developing it. Also, there is evidence of increased risk of childhood osteosarcoma associated with the father working in farming, horticulture and animal husbandry. Moreover, exposure to tetradifon, an organochlorine pesticide, was found to impact bone metabolism. Nowadays, chronic exposure to low-doses of pesticides, through diet, is considered one of the main risk factors of suffering cancer. Here, we aim to investigate the harmful associations between EDCs and bone-related neoplasms. A review search on several databases was undertaken using keywords that we considered relevant for this theme. The literature was critically screened and several evidences and mechanisms underlying the impact of EDCs in bone metabolism and/or bone cancer were found. Thus, despite the fact bone sarcomas are rare, which difficult their study, and are mainly a childhood cancer, investigations point exposure to EDCs, namely pesticides, as the cause for its development. Parental or perinatal exposure to these chemicals can disturb the normal bone metabolism and, ultimately conduct to bone cancer.