Blood Pb levels are associated with prostate cancer prevalence among general adult males: Linking National Cancer Registry (2002–2017) and KNHANES (2008–2017) databases of Korea

Exposure to heavy metals may increase the risk of developing prostate cancer. However, these observations are often inconsistent and not based on clinically diagnosed cases. To investigate the association of lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), and mercury (Hg) exposure with clinically determined prostate cancer cases among adult males in South Korea. Metal biomonitoring data and cancer information from the general Korean population were extracted by linking National Cancer Center (NCC) cancer registration data (2002–2017) with Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) data (2008–2017). Among them, 46 prostate cancer cases (designated as 'all-prostate'), including 25 diagnosed after heavy metal measurement (designated as 'post-prostate'), and 93 matching controls were chosen. Logistic regression analysis was used to calculate the odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) between the heavy metal levels and prostate cancer. Post-prostate patients exhibited higher blood Pb levels than controls (median 3.1 μg/dL vs. 2.38 μg/dL, p = 0.01). For all-prostate cancer, the OR of prostate cancer increased by 2.04-fold for every doubling of Pb levels (95% CI = 1.08–3.87, p = 0.03). The OR was also significantly elevated when comparing the third quartile (Q3) to the lowest quartile (Q1), with ORs ranging from 3.38 to 7.95, depending on model (p < 0.05). Blood Pb levels maintained a positive association with inconsistent significance for post-prostate cancer patients. For Cd and Hg, no statistically significant association was established. By linking two national health databases for the first time, we constructed an unbiased database of prostate cancer cases and matching controls. We found that blood Pb concentrations were associated with the risk of prostate cancer in Korean men at the current level of exposure.