Commentary

You have full text access to this OnlineOpen article

Environmental pollutants, diet, physical activity, body size, and breast cancer

Where do we stand in research to identify opportunities for prevention?

  1. Julia Green Brody PhD1,†,*,
  2. Ruthann A. Rudel MS1,
  3. Karin B. Michels ScD, PhD2,3,
  4. Kirsten B. Moysich PhD4,
  5. Leslie Bernstein PhD5,
  6. Kathleen R. Attfield BS1,
  7. Sharon Gray MA, MLS1

Article first published online: 14 MAY 2007

DOI: 10.1002/cncr.22656

Issue

Cancer

Cancer

Supplement: Environmental Factors in Breast Cancer

Volume 109, Issue Supplement 12, pages 2627–2634, 15 June 2007

Additional Information

How to Cite

Brody, J. G., Rudel, R. A., Michels, K. B., Moysich, K. B., Bernstein, L., Attfield, K. R. and Gray, S. (2007), Environmental pollutants, diet, physical activity, body size, and breast cancer. Cancer, 109: 2627–2634. doi: 10.1002/cncr.22656

Author Information

  1. 1

    Silent Spring Institute, Newton, Massachusetts

  2. 2

    Obstetrics and Gynecology Epidemiology Center, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts

  3. 3

    Department of Epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts

  4. 4

    Department of Epidemiology, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, New York

  5. 5

    Department of Preventive Medicine, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California

  1. †

    Fax: (617) 332-4284

*Silent Spring Institute, 29 Crafts St., Newton, MA 02458

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 4 JUN 2007
  2. Article first published online: 14 MAY 2007
  3. Manuscript Accepted: 30 JAN 2007
  4. Manuscript Revised: 3 JAN 2007
  5. Manuscript Received: 18 JUL 2006

Funded by

  • Komen for the Cure as part of the Environmental Factors and Breast Cancer Science Review project led by Silent Spring Institute with collaborating investigators at Harvard Medical School
  • Roswell Park Cancer Institute
  • University of Southern California

SEARCH

SEARCH BY CITATION

ARTICLE TOOLS

View Full Article (HTML) Get PDF (103K)

REFERENCES

  • 1
    Parkin DM, Bray F, Ferlay J, Pisani P. Global cancer statistics, 2002. CA Cancer J Clin. 2005; 55: 74–108.
    Direct Link:
  • 2
    National Center for Health Statistics. Mortality Data, Underlying Cause-of-Death Public-Use Data Files. Tenth Revision 39 Selected Causes of Death for Mortality Files from 1999 to 2003. Last modified: October 4, 2006. Available from URL: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/elec_prods/subject/mortucd.htm Accessed on November 6, 2006.
  • 3
    Ries L, Harkins D, Krapcho M, et al. SEER Cancer Statistics Review, 1975–2003. Bethesda, MD: National Cancer Institute; 2006.
  • 4
    American Cancer Society, Breast Cancer Facts and Figures. Atlanta, GA; 2005–2006.
  • 5
    Berry DA, Cronin KA, Plevritis SK, et al. Effect of screening and adjuvant therapy on mortality from breast cancer. N Engl J Med. 2005; 353: 1784–1792.
  • 6
    Gotzsche PC, Nielsen M. Screening for breast cancer with mammography. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2006:CD001877.
  • 7
    American Cancer Society, Cancer Facts & Figures. Atlanta, GA. 2007.
  • 8
    American Cancer Society, Cancer Statistics 2006 Presentation. Atlanta, GA. 2006.
  • 9
    American Cancer Society. What Happens After Treatment for Breast Cancer? Last modified: September 18, 2006. Available from URL: http://www.cancer.org/docroot/CRI/content/CRI_2_4_5X_What_happens_after_treatment_5.asp Accessed on November 6, 2006.
  • 10
    Downie FP, Mar Fan HG, Houede-Tchen N, Yi Q, Tannock IF. Cognitive function, fatigue, and menopausal symptoms in breast cancer patients receiving adjuvant chemotherapy: evaluation with patient interview after formal assessment. Psychooncology. 2006; 15: 921–930.
    Direct Link:
  • 11
    Hassett MJ, O'Malley AJ, Pakes JR, Newhouse JP, Earle CC. Frequency and cost of chemotherapy-related serious adverse effects in a population sample of women with breast cancer. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2006; 98: 1108–1117.
  • 12
    Partridge AH, Burstein HJ, Winer EP. Side effects of chemotherapy and combined chemohormonal therapy in women with early-stage breast cancer. J Natl Cancer Inst Monogr. 2001: 135–142.
  • 13
    National Cancer Institute. Cancer Trends Progress Report — 2005 Update: Costs of Cancer Care. Last modified: December 21, 2005. Available from URL: http://progressreport.cancer.gov/doc_detail.asp?pid=1&did=2005&chid=25&coid=226&mid= Accessed on July 12, 2006.
  • 14
    Brody JG, Tickner J, Rudel RA. Community-initiated breast cancer and environment studies and the precautionary principle. Environ Health Perspect. 2005; 113: 920–925.
  • 15
    Brown P, McCormick S, Mayer B, et al. ‘A lab of our own’: environmental causation of breast cancer and challenges to the dominant epidemiological paradigm. Sci Technol Hum Values. 2006; 31: 499–536.
  • 16
    Rockhill B, Byrne C, Rosner B, Louie MM, Colditz G. Breast cancer risk prediction with a log-incidence model: evaluation of accuracy. J Clin Epidemiol. 2003; 56: 856–861.
  • 17
    Rockhill B, Spiegelman D, Byrne C, Hunter DJ, Colditz GA. Validation of the Gail et al. model of breast cancer risk prediction and implications for chemoprevention. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2001; 93: 358–366.
  • 18
    Spiegelman D, Colditz GA, Hunter D, Hertzmark E. Validation of the Gail et al. model for predicting individual breast cancer risk. J Natl Cancer Inst. 1994; 86: 600–607.
  • 19
    Parkin DM, Bray FI, Devesa SS. Cancer burden in the year 2000. The global picture. Eur J Cancer. 2001; 37: S4–S66.
  • 20
    Deapen D, Liu L, Perkins C, Bernstein L, Ross RK. Rapidly rising breast cancer incidence rates among Asian-American women. Int J Cancer. 2002; 99: 747–750.
    Direct Link:
  • 21
    Kliewer EV, Smith KR. Breast cancer mortality among immigrants in Australia and Canada. J Natl Cancer Inst. 1995; 87: 1154–1161.
  • 22
    Wu AH, Ziegler RG, Pike MC, et al. Menstrual and reproductive factors and risk of breast cancer in Asian- Americans. Br J Cancer. 1996; 73: 680–686.
  • 23
    Ziegler RG, Hoover RN, Pike MC. Migration patterns and breast cancer risk in Asian-American women. J Natl Cancer Inst. 1993; 85: 1819–1827.
  • 24
    Lichtenstein P, Holm N, Verkasalo P, et al. Environmental and heritable factors in the causation of cancer: analyses of cohorts of twins from Sweden, Denmark, and Finland. N Engl J Med. 2000; 343: 78–85.
  • 25
    Mack TM, Hamilton AS, Press MF, Diep A, Rappaport EB. Heritable breast cancer in twins. Br J Cancer. 2002; 87: 294–300.
  • 26
    King MC, Marks JH, Mandell JB, New York Breast Cancer Study Group. Breast and ovarian cancer risk due to inherited mutations in BRCA1 & BRCA2. Science. 2003; 302: 643–646.
  • 27
    Michels KB, Mohllajee AP, Roset-Bahmanyar E, Beehler GP, Moysich KB. Diet and breast cancer: a review of the prospective observational studies. Cancer. 2007; 109: 000–000.
  • 28
    Kelsey JL, Bernstein L. Epidemiology and prevention of breast cancer. Annu Rev Public Health. 1996; 17: 47–67.
  • 29
    Smith-Warner SA, Spiegelman D, Yaun SS, et al. Alcohol and breast cancer in women: a pooled analysis of cohort studies. JAMA. 1998; 279: 535–540.
  • 30
    Brody JG, Moysich KB, Humblet O, Attfield KR, Beehler GP, Rudel RA. Environmental pollutants and breast cancer: epidemiologic studies. Cancer. 2007; 109: 000–000.
    Direct Link:
  • 31
    Rudel RA, Attfield KR, Schifano JN, Brody JG. Chemicals causing mammary gland tumors in animals signal new directions for epidemiology, chemicals testing, and risk assessment for breast cancer prevention. Cancer. 2007; 109: 000–000.
    Direct Link:
  • 32
    Friedenreich CM. Review of anthropometric factors and breast cancer risk. Eur J Cancer Prev. 2001; 10: 15–32.
  • 33
    Harvie M, Hooper L, Howell AH. Central obesity and breast cancer risk: a systematic review. Obes Rev. 2003; 4: 157–173.
    Direct Link:
  • 34
    Stephenson GD, Rose DP. Breast cancer and obesity: an update. Nutr Cancer. 2003; 45: 1–16.
  • 35
    Patel A, Bernstein L. Physical activity and cancer incidence: Breast cancer. In: McTiernanA, ed. Cancer Prevention and Management Through Exercise and Weight Control. Boca Raton, FL: Taylor and Frances; 2006: 49–74.
  • 36
    Vainio H, Bianchini F. IARC Handbooks on Cancer Prevention: Weight Control and Physical Activity. Lyon, France: IARC Press; 2002.
  • 37
    National Toxicology Program: Department of Health and Human Services. Study Reports and Abstracts Collection. Last modified: June 15, 2005. Available from URL: http://ntp.niehs.nih.gov:8080/query.html?qt=&col=020rpt&charset=iso-8859-1 Accessed on November 6, 2006.
  • 38
    International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). Search IARC Monographs. Last modified: May 2, 2006. Available from URL: http://www.iarc.fr/htdig/search.html Accessed on November 6, 2006.
  • 39
    National Toxicology Program: Department of Health and Human Services. 11th Report on Carcinogens. Last modified: June 15, 2005. Available from URL: http://ntp.niehs.nih.gov:8080/query.html?qt=&col=030roc&charset=iso-8859-1 Accessed on November 6, 2006.
  • 40
    Gold LS ST, Manley NB, Garfinkel GB, Ames BN. Summary Table by Chemical of Carcinogenicity Results in CPDB on 1485 Chemicals. Last modified: May 17, 2005. Available from URL: http://potency.berkeley.edu/pdfs/ChemicalTable.pdf Accessed on June 30, 2005.
  • 41
    National Library of Medicine. TOXNET — Databases on toxicology, hazardous chemicals, environmental health, and toxic releases. Last modified: November 29, 2005. Available from URL: http://toxnet.nlm.nih.gov/ Accessed on November 6, 2006.
  • 42
    Wolff MS, Toniolo PG, Lee EW, Rivera M, Dubin N. Blood levels of organochlorine residues and risk of breast cancer. J Natl Cancer Inst. 1993; 85: 648–652.
  • 43
    Dunnick JK, Elwell MR, Huff J, Barrett JC. Chemically induced mammary gland cancer in the National Toxicology Program's carcinogenesis bioassay. Carcinogenesis. 1995; 16: 173–179.
  • 44
    Program on Breast Cancer and Environmental Risk Factors. EnviroChem and Cancer Database. Last modified: July 18, 2005. Available from URL: http://envirocancer.cornell.edu/eccd/ Accessed on November 6, 2006.
  • 45
    Wolff MS, Collman GW, Barrett JC, Huff J. Breast cancer and environmental risk factors: epidemiological and experimental findings. Annu Rev Pharmacol Toxicol. 1996; 36: 573–596.
  • 46
    Meek ME, Bucher JR, Cohen SM, et al. A framework for human relevance analysis of information on carcinogenic modes of action. Crit Rev Toxicol. 2003; 33: 591–653.
  • 47
    National Toxicology Program. Hormonally-induced reproductive tumors: relevance of rodent bioassays workshop. Raleigh NC. May 22–24, 2006.
  • 48
    Huff J. Chemicals and cancer in humans: first evidence in experimental animals. Environ Health Perspect. 1993; 100: 201–210.
  • 49
    Huff J. Animal and human carcinogens (letter). Environ Health Perspect. 1999; 107: A341–342.
  • 50
    Huff J, Melnick R. What are the real causes of cancer? Int J Occup Environ Health. 2006; 12: 81–86.
  • 51
    International Agency for Research on Cancer. Preamble to the IARC Monographs on the Evaluation of Carcinogenic Risks to Humans. Last modified: January 23, 2006. Available from URL: http://monographs.iarc.fr/ENG/Preamble/index.php Accessed on November 6, 2006.
  • 52
    European Commission DG ENV. Towards the establishment of a priority list of substances for further evaluation of their role in endocrine disruption: preparation of a candidate list of substances as a basis for priority setting. Last modified: May 12, 2006. Available from URL: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/docum/pdf/bkh_main.pdf Accessed on November 9, 2006.
  • 53
    Colditz GA, Hankinson SE. The Nurses' Health Study: lifestyle and health among women. Nat Rev Cancer. 2005; 5: 388–396.
  • 54
    Zahm SH, Blair A. Occupational cancer among women: where have we been and where are we going? Am J Ind Med. 2003; 44: 565–575.
    Direct Link:
  • 55
    Blair A, Hartge P, Stewart PA, McAdams M, Lubin J. Mortality and cancer incidence of aircraft maintenance workers exposed to trichloroethylene and other organic solvents and chemicals: extended follow up. Occup Environ Med. 1998; 55: 161–171.
  • 56
    Rubin CH, Lanier A, Socha M, Brock JW, Kieszak S, Zahm S. Exposure to persistent organochlorines among Alaska Native women. Int J Circumpolar Health. 2001; 60: 157–169.
  • 57
    National Library of Medicine. Tox Town: environmental health concerns and toxic chemicals where you live, work and play. Last modified: October 12, 2006. Available from URL: http://toxtown.nlm.nih.gov/ Accessed on July 12, 2006.
  • 58
    National Library of Medicine. Household Products Database. Last modified: May 12, 2004. Available from URL: http://householdproducts.nlm.nih.gov/index.htm Accessed on November 6, 2006.
  • 59
    Vassar College. Environmental Risks and Breast Cancer. Available from URL: http://erbc.vassar.edu/ Accessed on November 5, 2006.
  • 60
    Laden F, Ishibe N, Hankinson SE, et al. Polychlorinated biphenyls, cytochrome P450 1A1, and breast cancer risk in the Nurses' Health Study. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2002; 11: 1560–1565.
  • 61
    Li Y, Millikan RC, Bell DA, et al. Polychlorinated biphenyls, cytochrome P450 1A1 (CYP1A1) polymorphisms, and breast cancer risk among African American women and white women in North Carolina: a population-based case-control study. Breast Cancer Res. 2005; 7: R12–18.
  • 62
    Moysich KB, Shields PG, Freudenheim JL, et al. Polychlorinated biphenyls, cytochrome P4501A1 polymorphism, and postmenopausal breast cancer risk. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 1999; 8: 41–44.
  • 63
    Zhang Y, Wise JP, Holford TR, et al. Serum polychlorinated biphenyls, cytochrome P-450 1A1 polymorphisms, and risk of breast cancer in Connecticut women. Am J Epidemiol. 2004; 160: 1177–1183.
  • 64
    Gammon MD, Santella RM, Neugut AI, et al. Environmental toxins and breast cancer on Long Island. I. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon DNA adducts. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2002; 11: 677–685.
View Full Article (HTML) Get PDF (103K)