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How Roundup Causes Cancer
Roundup is a glyphosate-based herbicide manufactured by Monsanto, now a subsidiary of Bayer AG. When the active ingredient in Roundup — glyphosate — and its surfactant adjuvants are absorbed through the skin, lungs, or mucous membranes during routine spraying, they cause oxidative stress and DNA damage in lymphocytes (the white blood cells that drive the immune system). Over years of repeated exposure, those mutations can develop into Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma and other blood cancers. The IARC's 2015 monograph on glyphosate found "sufficient evidence" of carcinogenicity in animals and "limited evidence" in humans — and dozens of subsequent epidemiological studies have strengthened the link.
Lymphomas Linked to Roundup
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Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (NHL) — The cancer most strongly linked to Roundup exposure and the focus of the federal Roundup MDL. NHL is an umbrella term for cancers of the lymphatic system that begin in white blood cells called lymphocytes.
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Diffuse Large B-cell Lymphoma (DLBCL) — The most common subtype of NHL, accounting for roughly 30% of all NHL diagnoses. Aggressive and fast-growing.
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Follicular Lymphoma — A common slow-growing (indolent) form of B-cell NHL. Strongly associated with glyphosate exposure in agricultural worker studies.
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Marginal Zone Lymphoma — A B-cell lymphoma that develops in the marginal zone of lymphoid tissue. Includes splenic, nodal, and extranodal (MALT) types.
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Mantle Cell Lymphoma — An aggressive B-cell lymphoma that arises from cells in the mantle zone of the lymph node.
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Burkitt Lymphoma — A rapidly growing B-cell lymphoma. Rare but extremely aggressive.
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T-cell Lymphomas — Including peripheral T-cell lymphoma, cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (mycosis fungoides, Sézary syndrome), and other rarer T-cell subtypes.
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Primary Central Nervous System Lymphoma — A rare lymphoma that develops in the brain or spinal cord.
Leukemias & Other Hematologic Cancers
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Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL) — A slow-growing leukemia that affects B-cells. CLL and Small Lymphocytic Lymphoma (SLL) are considered different presentations of the same disease and are commonly accepted in the Roundup MDL.
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Hairy Cell Leukemia — A rare, slow-growing B-cell leukemia named for the appearance of the abnormal cells under a microscope.
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Multiple Myeloma — A cancer of plasma cells in the bone marrow. Multiple peer-reviewed studies have linked agricultural glyphosate exposure to elevated myeloma risk.
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Waldenström Macroglobulinemia — A rare B-cell lymphoma sometimes classified as a lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma.
The Monsanto Papers
Internal Monsanto documents released through prior Roundup litigation — the so-called "Monsanto Papers" — show the company ghost-wrote scientific articles, attacked independent researchers who raised cancer concerns, and worked behind the scenes to influence the EPA's review of glyphosate. They are the Roundup-era equivalent of the internal tobacco industry documents that proved Big Tobacco concealed the cancer risks of cigarettes for decades.
