More News on the Link Between Fluoride in Drinking Water & Cancer

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/12/AR2005071201
277.html

Fluoride-cancer study scrutinized Harvard professor might have concealed findings JULIET EILPERIN; The Washington Post July 13th, 2005 07:35 AM (PDT)

WASHINGTON ­ Federal authorities and Harvard University officials are investigating whether a Harvard professor buried research suggesting a link between fluoridated tap water and bone cancer in adolescent boys.

The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, which funded Chester Douglass'$1.3 million study, and the university are investigating why the Harvard School of Dental Medicine epidemiologist told federal officials he found no significant correlation between fluoridated water and osteosarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer.

Douglass, who serves as editor in chief for the industry-funded Colgate Oral Care Report, supervised research for a 2001 doctoral thesis that concluded boys exposed to fluoridated water at a young age were more likely to get the cancer.

The Environmental Working Group, an advocacy organization, urged federal officials late last month to explore whether Douglass had skewed his 2004 report to the institute to play down possible risks associated with fluoridation.

Issue divides pierce county The practice of fluoridating tap water ­ which more than 170 million Americans drink ­ has inspired controversy for years, but the majority of federal and state officials back it as a highly effective way to prevent tooth decay.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have ranked fluoridation as one of the top 10 health achievements of the 20th century.

Fluoridation has long been a contentious subject in Pierce County. Most recently, the Lakewood Water District decided to discount a November election that favored fluoridation of its water.

The argument centers on the possible carcinogenic qualities of fluoride, not its efficacy as a tooth decay preventative.

The National Cancer Institute states on its Web site: "Many studies, in both humans and animals, have shown no association between fluoridated water and risk for cancer."

And Douglass reported last year that the odds of having osteosarcoma after drinking fluoridated water were ³not statistically different² from the risk after drinking nonfluoridated water.

But in 2001, Douglass' doctoral student, Elise Bassin, published a thesis using his data that concluded: "Among males, exposure to fluoride at or above the target level was associated with an increased risk of developing osteosarcoma. The association was most apparent between ages 5-10, with a peak at six to eight years of age." Other studies back connection Bassin¹s thesis work is considered the most rigorous human study to date on a possible connection between fluoridation and osteosarcoma, a rare but lethal form of cancer that affects males nearly twice as often as females. Patients with the cancer live an average of three years after diagnosis.

In 1990, an animal study by the National Toxicology Program found "equivocal evidence" of a link between fluoridated water and cancer in male rats.

And more than a decade ago, a New Jersey Department of Health survey found that young males in fluoridated communities had a higher rate of osteosarcoma than those in nonfluoridated communities.

"Fluoride safety is a major public health issue, and a Harvard professor potentially falsifying public research results has huge public health implications," said Richard Wiles, senior vice president of the Environmental Working Group.

He added that Douglass' role in editing a newsletter funded by Colgate-Palmolive Co. "creates the appearance of a conflict of interest." Douglass, who has taught at Harvard since 1978 and has edited the Colgate quarterly since 1997, referred inquires to the university's press office. Harvard Medical School spokesman John Lacey said the school "takes all allegations of misconduct seriously and has a standard system for reviewing allegations of research impropriety. The school is assembling an inquiry committee to review the questions raised concerning the reporting of this work." Douglass has not edited any articles for the newsletter on the possible connection between fluoridation and cancer, and has not testified publicly on the issue, Lacey added. Bassin could not be reached.

News Tribune staff contributed to this report.

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