Skip to main content

REVIEW article

Front. Public Health
Sec. Environmental Health and Exposome
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1531751

Exposure to pesticides in Chile and its relationship with carcinogenic potential: a review

Provisionally accepted
María Teresa Muñoz Quezada María Teresa Muñoz Quezada 1,2*Veronica Iglesias Veronica Iglesias 2Liliana Zúñiga Liliana Zúñiga 3Floria Pancetti Floria Pancetti 4Claudia Foerster Claudia Foerster 5Natalia Landeros Natalia Landeros 6Boris Lucero Boris Lucero 7Daniel Schwantes Daniel Schwantes 8Sandra Cortés Sandra Cortés 8
  • 1 University of Chile, Santiago, Chile
  • 2 Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Chile, Talca, Chile
  • 3 Centro de Investigaciones y Estudios Avanzados del Maule, Universidad Católica del Maule, Talca, Chile
  • 4 Catholic University of the North, Coquimbo, Coquimbo, Chile
  • 5 Universidad de O'Higgins, Rancagua, Chile
  • 6 Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Católica del Maule, Talca, Chile
  • 7 Facultad de ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Católica del Maule, Talca, Chile
  • 8 Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Santiago Metropolitan Region (RM), Chile

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    The widespread application of pesticides in agriculture and the consequent heightened human exposure to these potentially harmful substances present considerable environmental and health risks. The potential link to cancer is particularly concerning, underscoring the urgent need for more sustainable and health-conscious agricultural practices. Pesticides are pervasive global contaminants, with exposure occurring through various routes. Improper use is associated with genotoxicity, neurobehavioral problems, thyroid dysfunction, reproductive issues, and cancer, among other deleterious damages.While pesticide exposure is evident in Chile, a direct link to cancer remains uncertain.Objective: To examine the scientific evidence on pesticides exposure in the environment and human populations, and its relationship with cancer in Chilean territory.The search for original articles was performed in international peer-reviewed scientific databases, including Scopus, Web of Science (WoS), and PubMed Advanced Search Builder. Following the PRISMA extension for review guidelines, the search included studies on environmental pesticide exposure, human biomarker assessments, experimental investigations, and the potential pesticide-cancer associations in Chile.Foreign studies, systematic reviews, and meta-analyses were excluded.Results: Among the 83 qualifying studies conducted between 1996 and 2024, elevated pesticide exposure risks were documented, with 71% indicating high concentrations that may pose health risk. Additionally, 20% of studies reported significant chlorinated compounds, including organochlorines (OCs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), while 79.5% identified carcinogenic to humans classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. The review emphasizes the urgent need to update pesticide-related 4 regulations in Chile, including implementing bans or restrictions on carcinogenic pesticides and establishing stricter standards for allowable pesticide residue levels in food.Conclusions: Long-term epidemiological studies are essential to establishing concrete links between pesticide exposure and specific types of cancer. Additionally, investigating epigenetic markers associated with pesticide exposure, especially in occupational settings, is critical. Furthermore, allocating resources and prioritizing further research is fundamental, particularly in regions with substantial agricultural exposure.

    Keywords: pesticide exposure, carcinogenic effects, Environmental contamination, health risk assessment, Genotoxicity

    Received: 20 Nov 2024; Accepted: 05 Feb 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Muñoz Quezada, Iglesias, Zúñiga, Pancetti, Foerster, Landeros, Lucero, Schwantes and Cortés. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: María Teresa Muñoz Quezada, University of Chile, Santiago, Chile

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.