ANHE

• There are approximately 82,700 chemical substances presently in use in the U.S., and 1,000 new chemicals introduced every year. (2) Alarmingly, 90% of these chemicals have had little to no testing for their effects on human health. (3) Many of them end up in our environment exposing us through air, food, and water. The Breast Cancer Fund, a non-profit group that advocates for the elimination of the environmental and other preventable causes of breast cancer, in 2008 published the 5th edition of their comprehensive study; State of the Evidence: The Connection Between Breast Cancer and the Environment that summarizes findings of more than 400 epidemiological and experimental studies and is peer reviewed by leading scientists. (4)  Before looking at the evidence linking environmental chemical pollutants to breast cancer, consider the following trends described in this comprehensive report.

• In cohort studies of women with a genetic predisposition (either BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutations) to develop breast cancer, those who were born in recent decades, when there was a greater exposure to environmental chemicals, have higher incidence of the disease than women born in an earlier, less polluted time period. (4)
  

• Women who migrate from countries with lower rates of breast cancer (usually less-developed countries, e.g some Asian countries) to countries with higher rates (the industrialized countries, such as America and Europe) acquire the higher breast cancer risk of their new country within a generation. This may be due to a combination of risk factors encountered in the new country, including exposure to industrial chemicals. (5)
  

• In a large cohort study of twins in which at least one developed breast cancer, it was determined that environmental factors specific to the twin who developed the cancer made a more significant contribution than either genetics or shared environmental risks. (4)
  

breast cancer, chemicals

Last updated 390 days ago by Katie Huffling