The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) is a World Health Organization (WHO) agency devoted to cancer research. The agency periodically publishes reports, called IARC monographs, on environmental factors that may increase the risk of cancer. Interdisciplinary and international teams prepare the monographs on possible carcinogens after reviewing published studies and evaluating all publicly available information pertaining to evidence of cancer risk.
On March 20, 2015, the IARC working group on glyphosate published the results of a year-long investigation into the link between glyphosate and cancer. The IARC working group consisted of 17 renowned scientists from 11 different countries. The IARC working group concluded that the chemical is “probably carcinogenic to humans” and that there was strong evidence of an association between glyphosate exposures and non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
The WHO glyphosate cancer monograph begins by systematically reviewing studies that have examined the use of the herbicide and its presence in the environment. Several points of interest emerge in this section.
Following the discussion of the general use of glyphosate and its presence in the environment, the WHO glyphosate cancer investigators turned to the most current body of research. They first reviewed several major glyphosate cancer studies that investigated the link between the chemical and cancer in humans.
Two studies based on AHS data stand out:
The WHO glyphosate cancer researchers also looked a number of animal studies that involved herbicides. After evaluating research conducted by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on mice, the IARC workgroup found “a significant increase in the incidence of rare tumors, with a dose-related trend” that could be linked to glyphosate. Tumors of the mammary gland were observed in several rat studies reviewed for the WHO glyphosate cancer monograph.
“There is strong evidence that exposure to glyphosate or glyphosate-based formulations is genotoxic based on studies in humans in vitro and studies in experimental animals.” -International Agency for Research on Cancer, Monograph on Glyphosate, 2015.
The WHO glyphosate cancer scientists found “strong” evidence that formulations containing glycophase are genotoxic. That is, they can damage the genetic material of a cell.
Most cells have 23 pairs of chromosomes. These thread-like structures are made of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and carry a person’s genetic information in the form of genes. Genes control the activities of a cell. Damage to the genetic material of cells can lead to cancer.
One study reviewed by the WHO glyphosate cancer team examined chromosomal damage before and after aerial spraying with a product that contained glyphosate. There were significant indications of damage in three of the four geographical areas studied. Additional evidence of genotoxicity came from studies that found “biomarkers of DNA adducts” and other types of chromosomal damage in human cells, mammals and non-mammalian organisms. Biomarkers are measurable indicators of the presence of a disease. DNA adducts are the result of DNA attaching to a cancer causing chemical. They may be found in the initial stages of cancer. DNA adducts, for example, are part of the pathway that leads from smoking to cancer.
There is also moderate evidence for the genotoxicity of AMPA. Microbes in the soil degrade glyphosate to AMPA and AMPA has also been found in human urine.
“Extensive research during last two decades has revealed the mechanism by which continued oxidative stress can lead to chronic inflammation, which in turn could mediate most chronic diseases including cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular, neurological and pulmonary diseases.” - Simon Reuter et al., “Oxidative stress, inflammation, and cancer: How are they linked?” Free Radical Biology and Medicine, 2010 Dec 1; 49(11): 1603–1616.
The WHO glyphosate cancer investigators also found “strong evidence that glyphosate, AMPA, and glyphosate-based formulations can induce oxidative stress.” Oxidative stress is a process within the body that has been described as a “rusting” of the body. In 2010, scientists at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center wrote that extensive research had established a pathway leading from oxidative stress to chronic inflammation and from there to several chronic diseases, including cancer.
In the U.S., every pesticide must be registered for use by the Environmental Protection Agency. This requires an EPA finding that the pesticide “can be used effectively without posing unreasonable risks to human health and the environment.” The WHO Glyphosate Cancer monograph strongly suggests that the registration of this chemical should be reconsidered.
The IARC monograph is available online at the IARC website. A summary of the entire monograph results was published in Lancet Oncology in May 2015.
Summary Information
Contact Wisner Baum today to get started with our team.
"Wisner Baum gave exceptional attention to all aspects of the case, detailed inquiry, and tenacious overview of all the information submitted. The paralegals are efficient and diligent. I was completely surprised to find an empathic personal message to take care of my own health during the challenging time of being a full-time caretaker.*"
In May of 2019, the jury in the case of Pilliod et al. v, Monsanto Company ordered the agrochemical giant to pay $2.055 billion in damages to the plaintiffs, Alva and Alberta Pilliod, a Bay Area couple in their 70s. R. Brent Wisner served as co-lead trial attorney for the Pilliods, delivering the opening and closing statements and cross-examining several of Monsanto’s experts. Wisner Baum managing shareholder, Michael Baum and attorney Pedram Esfandiary also served on the trial team in the Pilliod case.
The judge later reduced their award to $87M. Monsanto appealed the Pilliod’s verdict which the California Court of Appeal for the First Appellate District denied on August 9, 2021. Monsanto then requested the California Supreme Court review the appeal’s court decision, which the court denied on Nov. 17, 2021. Monsanto (Bayer) then submitted a petition for a writ of certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court which SCOTUS denied on June 27, 2022, allowing the final judgment of $87M to remain intact.
$289.2 million jury verdict in Monsanto Roundup trial
Wisner Baum co-represented Dewayne “Lee” Johnson in the first Roundup cancer lawsuit to proceed to trial. On Aug. 10, 2018, a San Francisco jury ordered Monsanto to pay $39.25 million in compensatory damages and $250 million in punitive damages to Mr. Johnson, a former groundskeeper who alleged exposure to Monsanto’s herbicides caused him to develop terminal non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
Months after the jury verdict, the judge overseeing the trial reduced the punitive damages to $39.25 million. Mr. Johnson decided to accept the remittitur, bringing the adjusted amount awarded to Mr. Johnson $78.5 million.
Monsanto (Bayer) appealed the verdict and Johnson cross appealed. On July 20, 2020, the First Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the verdict against Monsanto but reduced Mr. Johnson’s award to $20.5 million. The company chose not to take the case to the U.S. Supreme Court, ending the litigation.
In 2016, Wisner Baum attorney Timothy A. Loranger and six other attorneys in the Plaintiffs’ Management Committee were able to secure a $265 million settlement for victims of the 2015 Amtrak 188 derailment in Philadelphia, one of the largest in the U.S. for 2016.
