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2025
Environ Pollut
A study of 574 breast cancer cases and 2,295 controls from rural Arkansas found that moderate exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and high chromium exposure were associated with statistically significant 32% increased breast cancer risk, with the strongest effects observed among women with a family history of breast cancer. When examining 12 hazardous air pollutants as a mixture, there was a suggested but non-statistically significant 21% increased breast cancer risk, with chromium, propylene dichloride, and PCBs contributing most to the elevated risk. This study is important because it demonstrates that hazardous air pollutants pose breast cancer risks even in rural areas, which are often overlooked in environmental health research despite experiencing different pollution sources and healthcare disparities compared to urban populations.
2025
Environ Health Perspect
This nested case-control study, part of the E3N-Generations cohort of France, used satellite data to estimate exposures to both outdoor light-at-night. They found a linear increase in breast cancer risk, based upon quartiles or outdoor light-at-night exposure, p<.01. When they controlled for nitrogen dioxide exposure, pm 2.5, and vegetation density, the trend was no longer significant, but breast cancer risk was still elevated in association with light-at-night exposure (OR=1.11, 95%CI=1.02-1.20).
2024
Environ Int
This large prospective study of over 170,000 women in the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study examined whether air emissions of 19 known or suspected carcinogenic chemicals from industrial facilities (1987-1995) were associated with postmenopausal breast cancer risk through 2018. Women living within 1 km of high benzene emissions had more than double the breast cancer risk compared to unexposed women (HR=2.06, 95% CI: 1.34-3.17, p-trend=0.001), with the association weakening at greater distances and appearing strongest for invasive rather than ductal carcinoma in situ. Elevated risk was also observed for vinyl chloride exposure at 5 km distance (HR=1.20, 95% CI: 1.01-1.43, p-trend=0.04), with suggestive but unclear associations for asbestos, trichloroethylene, and styrene. These findings indicate that residential proximity to industrial facilities emitting benzene and other carcinogens may increase breast cancer risk, warranting further investigation particularly in diverse populations living near high concentrations of industrial sources.
2024
Environ Health
This large French cohort study analysed long-term residential exposure trajectories of PCB153 and benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) among more than 10,000 women and estimated associations with breast cancer risk. Women in the highest trajectory class for PCB153 had an OR of ~1.69 (95% CI: 1.08–2.64) compared to the lowest class; associations for BaP were weaker and not consistently statistically significant. The research highlights how evolving environmental exposures over decades may influence hormone-sensitive cancer risk.
2023
Environ Res
A nationwide U.S. study of nearly 45,000 women found clear geographic patterns in breast cancer rates, with lower risk in the South and Southeast and higher risk in the Northwest and parts of the Midwest and Northeast, even after accounting for personal risk factors like family history and reproductive factors. Environmental exposures—including air pollution (nitrogen dioxide and fine particles), light at night, greenspace, and neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage—explained 21% of the geographic variation in overall breast cancer and 63% of the variation specifically for estrogen receptor-positive (ER+) breast cancer. These findings provide strong evidence that where you live matters for breast cancer risk, with environmental factors playing a substantial role, particularly for ER+ breast cancer, the most common subtype, suggesting that reducing environmental exposures like air pollution and light at night could be effective prevention strategies at the community level.
2018
Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev
This study examined how exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) during puberty affects breast tissue development in 200 Chilean girls by measuring urinary concentrations of phenols and phthalates at two stages of breast development and assessing breast density. The researchers found that certain phthalate metabolites were associated with increased breast density measures – specifically, higher levels of monocarboxyisooctyl phthalate were linked to 7% higher percent dense breast tissue, and monoethyl phthalate was associated with increased fibroglandular volume. Bisphenol A showed a U-shaped relationship with fibroglandular volume, where girls with middle-level exposures had at least 10% lower fibroglandular volume compared to those with low or high exposures. The findings suggest that developing breast tissue is vulnerable to certain EDCs during childhood and adolescence, which may have implications for future breast cancer risk since breast density is a known risk factor.
2025
Nutr J
A prospective cohort study of 13,567 Chinese women followed for nearly 15 years found that consuming one or more servings of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) per week was associated with a 58% increased breast cancer risk compared to consuming less than one serving weekly. The association was partly mediated by body mass index (4.2%) and uric acid (18.8%), with genetic analyses identifying additional metabolic mediators including cholesterol and fatty acid ratios accounting for small portions of the effect. Interestingly, higher soy milk consumption (3-6 portions weekly) was associated with a 69% reduced breast cancer risk, while dairy milk showed a non-significant trend toward increased risk, and no associations were found for juice, coffee, tea, or alcohol, suggesting that reducing SSB consumption and addressing the associated metabolic disruptions could be effective breast cancer prevention strategies.
2024
Breast Cancer Res
A nested case-control study within the French E3N-Generations cohort examined 523 breast cancer cases and 523 matched controls to investigate whether thirteen metabolic health biomarkers mediate the relationship between exposure to three air pollutants (nitrogen dioxide, PCB153, and benzo[a]pyrene) and breast cancer risk. The study found that benzo[a]pyrene exposure was associated with a significant 2.32-fold increased breast cancer risk (highest vs. lowest quartile), PCB153 showed inconsistent positive associations, and nitrogen dioxide showed no association; among biomarkers, estradiol was associated with increased breast cancer risk (OR = 1.22 per SD). Four-way decomposition mediation analysis revealed suggestive evidence that albumin, HDL and LDL cholesterol, parathormone, and estradiol may partially mediate the associations between all three pollutants and breast cancer risk, though findings were limited by statistical power. These results provide preliminary mechanistic insights suggesting that air pollutants may influence breast cancer risk through alterations in metabolic biomarkers—particularly lipid metabolism and hormone regulation—though larger studies are needed to confirm these pathways and establish the clinical significance of these mediating effects in the relationship between environmental exposures and breast cancer development.
2023
Frontiers
This meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the association between exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), including phthalates and other common environmental pollutants, and breast cancer risk. The study found that certain EDCs—such as p,p′-DDT, chlordane, HCH, and specific PCBs—were positively associated with increased breast cancer risk, while a few compounds like BBP and PFDoDA showed a negative association.
2023
Sci Total Environ
In a transgenic mouse model (MMTV-Erbb2) that naturally develops mammary tumors, mice given oral cadmium (3.6 mg/L in drinking water for 23 weeks) developed palpable tumors significantly earlier and showed accelerated tumor growth compared with unexposed controls. Cadmium exposure increased the proliferation marker Ki-67, enhanced focal necrosis and new blood vessel formation in mammary tumors, and triggered greater intratumoral glutamine metabolism. Notably, disrupting gut microbiota with antibiotics delayed tumor onset and reduced tumor weight, implicating gut-microbiome–mediated metabolic reprogramming in cadmium-driven mammary tumorigenesis.
2020
Breast Cancer Res Treat
A prospective cohort study of 57,654 Swedish women aged 40-74 years found that increased alcohol consumption was associated with a 26% higher breast cancer risk, but importantly, this relationship—and the protective effect of physical activity—was consistent across women regardless of their baseline breast cancer risk level. The study used the Tyrer-Cuzick model to categorize women as below average, average, or above average risk and found that additional risk factors (such as family history, reproductive factors, or breast density) did not modify how alcohol and physical activity affected breast cancer risk. These findings support recommending reduced alcohol consumption and increased physical activity for breast cancer prevention in all women, regardless of their individual risk profile, since the lifestyle benefits apply equally whether a woman is at low, average, or high baseline risk of developing the disease.