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2025
Ecotoxicol Environ Saf
This study examined the link between cadmium (Cd) exposure and breast cancer risk using data from nearly 6,000 participants and a meta-analysis of 20 studies. The researchers found that higher cadmium levels significantly increased breast cancer risk, with the strongest association in estrogen receptor-positive (ER+) breast cancer subtypes, and identified glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c, a marker of blood sugar control) as a potential mechanism linking cadmium exposure to cancer development. The findings suggest that cadmium, an endocrine-disrupting metal found in the environment, may contribute to breast cancer through metabolic disruption. These results highlight the importance of reducing cadmium exposure and understanding how environmental toxins interact with metabolic health to influence cancer risk.
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.
2024
Environ Pollut
A French study of over 10,000 women found that combined exposure to a mixture of four hormone-disrupting air pollutants (benzo[a]pyrene, cadmium, dioxin, and PCB153) was associated with an approximately 10-11% increased risk of breast cancer. Using advanced statistical methods that account for simultaneous exposure to multiple pollutants rather than examining each separately, researchers found that benzo[a]pyrene, cadmium, and PCB153 showed the strongest individual contributions to increased breast cancer risk within the mixture. This research provides important evidence that the cumulative effect of multiple air pollutants acting together on hormone pathways may be a significant risk factor for breast cancer development.
2024
Nutrients
This study of 989 women with BRCA1 mutations in Poland examined whether blood lead levels affect cancer risk in this high-risk population. Women with elevated blood lead levels (above 13.6 μg/L) showed 3.33 times higher risk of developing ovarian cancer (95% CI: 1.23-9.00, p=0.02) compared to those with lower levels, though this association lost significance after adjusting for other factors (HR=2.10, 95% CI: 0.73-6.01), while no significant association was found with breast cancer risk. These findings suggest that lead exposure may be an additional risk factor for ovarian cancer in BRCA1 mutation carriers and could inform the timing of preventive surgery (removal of ovaries and fallopian tubes) in this population. The authors recommend validation of these findings in other populations and investigation of whether reducing lead exposure through detoxification could lower ovarian cancer risk in BRCA1 carriers.
2024
Environ Health Perspect
A nationwide study using CDC biomonitoring data found that California’s Proposition 65, which requires warnings about chemicals that cause cancer or reproductive harm, led to reduced exposures to listed chemicals across the entire United States, not just California. While blood and urine concentrations of 37 monitored chemicals generally declined over time, the researchers found evidence of problematic chemical substitution—for example, after bisphenol A (BPA) was listed, its concentrations dropped 15% but levels of the unlisted substitute bisphenol S (BPS) increased 20%. Californians generally had lower levels of harmful chemicals in their bodies compared to residents of other states, suggesting the law had additional protective effects. The findings indicate that transparency laws like Prop 65 can drive manufacturers to reformulate products nationwide, but regulations need to address entire chemical classes rather than individual substances to prevent companies from simply switching to similar but unlisted toxic chemicals.
2023
Biol Trace Elem Res
This cross-sectional analysis from the 2007–2016 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) explored the relationship of urinary concentrations of heavy metals and breast cancer. 3,352 U.S. women (aged 20 or older) in the were included in the analysis. 106 reported a history of breast cancer (weighted prevalence ~ 3.1%). Researchers measured urinary concentrations of heavy metals — cadmium, lead, and mercury — corrected for creatinine, then applied multivariate logistic regression to assess associations with prevalent breast cancer. They found that women in the highest quartile of urinary lead (≥ 0.71 µg/g creatinine) had significantly elevated odds of prior breast cancer (OR = 2.95, 95% CI: 1.13–7.70) compared with those in the lowest quartile; by contrast, urinary cadmium and mercury showed no statistically significant associations. The findings suggest that among common endocrine-disrupting metals, lead exposure — as measured by urinary biomarkers — may be linked with increased breast cancer prevalence in U.S. women.
2023
Environ Int
This cohort study examined associations of metals to multiple cancer sites. Participants were from a cohort study of worker from the French national energy company who lived in semi-urban or rural locations. The researchers estimated metal exposures from moss biomonitoring (part of a larger effort to measure air pollution). Estimated exposures to metals were associated any cancer (bladder, lung, breast or prostate), but no estimated exposures were associated with breast cancer alone. Some estimates appraoched HR >1 for breast cancer.
Association between Urinary Lead and Female Breast Cancer: A Population-Based Cross-Sectional Study.
2023
Discov Med
This study analyzed data from nearly 2,800 women in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) to investigate whether urinary lead levels are associated with breast cancer risk. Researchers found that higher urinary lead levels were positively associated with breast cancer, with women having the highest lead levels showing 2.16 times the odds of breast cancer compared to those with the lowest levels, and this association persisted after adjusting for numerous factors including age, BMI, smoking, and socioeconomic status. The positive trend was consistent across different subgroups of women regardless of age, race, pregnancy history, or other health conditions. These findings suggest that lead exposure, as measured in urine, may be a risk factor for breast cancer in US women.
2023
J Endocrinol Invest
A comprehensive literature review examining environmental endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) and hormone-related cancers concludes that several EDCs can be definitively classified as carcinogenic, including dioxin and cadmium for breast and thyroid cancer, arsenic and dioxin for prostate cancer, and organochlorines for testicular cancer. The review highlights that fetuses and newborns are most vulnerable to endocrine disruption, with adverse effects potentially manifesting at different ages throughout life, making it difficult to assess the full health impact of EDC exposure. The authors emphasize that EDCs represent a major environmental health issue requiring effective prevention policies, increased public awareness, and protective measures—particularly for pregnant women—along with standardized testing criteria to evaluate the carcinogenic potential of new chemicals before they enter widespread use.
2022
Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev
A prospective Italian study of 496 breast cancer cases and matched controls found that women with the highest copper-to-zinc (Cu/Zn) ratio in their blood plasma had a 75% increased risk of developing breast cancer compared to those with the lowest ratio. Women with high Cu/Zn ratios in both plasma and urine showed an even more striking 137% increased risk. The association was particularly strong for cancers diagnosed within two years of measurement, suggesting that disrupted copper-zinc balance may serve as both an early marker of breast cancer and a potential risk factor, possibly opening avenues for preventive interventions targeting women with abnormal Cu/Zn homeostasis.
2021
Environ Int
Long-term exposure to benzo[a]pyrene (BaP), a toxic air pollutant from gas and diesel vehicle exhaust, was associated with a 15% increased risk of breast cancer in a large French study of over 10,000 women. The risk was particularly elevated in women transitioning through menopause and for hormone receptor-positive breast cancers, with each increase in BaP exposure levels raising breast cancer odds by 15-20%. This study provides important real-world evidence that BaP air pollution may contribute to breast cancer development, especially affecting hormone-sensitive tumors.
Chronic long-term exposure to cadmium air pollution and breast cancer risk in the French E3N cohort.
2020
Cancer Epiemiol
A French study of over 8,000 women found no overall association between long-term airborne cadmium exposure and breast cancer risk, but unexpectedly discovered that higher cadmium exposure was associated with a 32-38% decreased risk of estrogen receptor-negative (ER-) breast cancers. This finding contradicts the hypothesis that cadmium increases breast cancer risk through its estrogen-like effects, and instead suggests cadmium may have different biological effects depending on the hormone receptor status of tumors. These surprising results indicate that cadmium’s relationship with breast cancer is more complex than previously thought and may involve mechanisms beyond its known estrogen-mimicking properties, requiring further research to understand why it might protect against hormone receptor-negative tumors.
2019
Epidemiol
A large US study of nearly 51,000 women found that exposure to airborne toxic metals, particularly mercury, cadmium, and lead, was associated with increased postmenopausal breast cancer risk, with mercury showing the strongest effect at 30% increased risk for the highest exposure levels. When examining the combined effect of 10 different airborne metals together, the mixture was associated with elevated postmenopausal breast cancer risk, with mercury, lead, and cadmium contributing most to this increased risk. These findings suggest that environmental exposure to toxic metals through air pollution may be an important and underrecognized risk factor specifically for breast cancer in postmenopausal women.
2019
Int J Mol Sci
This case-control study of 509 breast cancer patients and 1,170 controls in examined whether cadmium exposure—a metalloestrogen that mimics estrogen—is associated with specific breast cancer subtypes based on urinary cadmium levels. Women with the highest cadmium levels (>0.33 μg/g creatinine) had 53% increased odds of ductal breast cancer (OR=1.53, 95% CI: 1.15-2.04) compared to those with the lowest levels, with the strongest associations observed for hormone receptor-positive tumors: 34% increased odds for ER+ cancers (OR=1.34, 95% CI: 1.14-1.59), 33% for PR+ cancers (OR=1.33, 95% CI: 1.09-1.61), and 35% for ER+/PR+ cancers (OR=1.35, 95% CI: 1.11-1.65). The study found significant associations with HER2-negative cancers, with the strongest link for ER+/PR+/HER2- breast cancers, supporting the hypothesis that cadmium acts as an endocrine disruptor. These findings provide evidence that cadmium exposure is specifically associated with hormone receptor-positive and HER2-negative breast cancer risk, independent of tumor type, suggesting cadmium’s estrogenic properties may contribute to hormone-driven breast cancers.
2019
Cancer Epidemiol
A 22-year Italian study following nearly 9,000 women found that those with the highest dietary cadmium intake (a toxic metal found in foods like grains, vegetables, and shellfish) had a 54% increased breast cancer risk compared to those with the lowest intake, with even stronger associations in premenopausal women (73% increased risk). Cadmium—classified as a proven human carcinogen—enters the food supply primarily through contaminated soil and water, with diet being the main exposure source for non-smokers at an average intake of about 8 micrograms per day in this population. The increased risk was consistent across all breast cancer subtypes regardless of hormone receptor status, supporting cadmium as a dietary risk factor for breast cancer and highlighting the need for strategies to reduce cadmium levels in the food supply through soil remediation and crop selection.
2024
Cancer Causes Control
A population-based study using Kentucky cancer registry data (77,637 breast cancer and 56,598 colorectal cancer cases) found that higher ambient air concentrations of carcinogenic metals—cadmium, arsenic, nickel, and chromium(VI)—were associated with increased odds of residing in breast and colorectal cancer hotspots, independent of individual risk factors including age, race, smoking, and neighborhood socioeconomic characteristics. Cancer hotspot populations were disproportionately Black and exhibited markers of lower socioeconomic status, and importantly, the metal-cancer associations persisted even after adjusting for these factors, suggesting environmental metal exposure is an independent contributor to geographic cancer clustering. These findings provide evidence that historically marginalized communities face disproportionate exposure to carcinogenic metals through environmental pollution, likely contributing to cancer disparities, and underscore the urgent need for environmental justice interventions including stricter air quality regulations, cleanup of contaminated sites, and individual-level exposure assessments to fully understand how metal exposures drive cancer inequities in vulnerable populations.
2024
Environ Res
Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs)—including bisphenol A, phthalates, parabens, pesticides, and heavy metals commonly found in pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and packaging—are widespread environmental pollutants that interfere with the body’s hormone system. Research shows EDCs have harmful effects on women’s reproductive health, contributing to conditions such as endometriosis, polycystic ovary syndrome, uterine fibroids, premature ovarian failure, menstrual irregularities, and infertility. This review emphasizes the need for healthcare professionals to consider environmental exposures when evaluating patients, highlights potential mechanisms by which EDCs affect female reproduction, and discusses how nutritional interventions and stricter environmental regulations could help reduce EDC-related health risks. Understanding the link between EDCs and women’s health is crucial for developing protective strategies, informing treatment approaches, and shaping public policies to safeguard reproductive and overall well-being. The study seeks to advise that couples attempting to conceive should avoid endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) such as BPA, pesticides, and phthalates. Following this advice is found to be crucial during the prenatal and periconceptional periods, where fetal development and growth are critical in this window.
2024
Environ Health Perspect
A mouse study examining DNA methylation changes from lead and DEHP (phthalate) exposure during pregnancy and early development found that the brain (cerebral cortex) showed the most epigenetic changes (66% for lead, 57% for DEHP), with alterations concentrated in gene regulatory regions that control gene expression. The research identified imprinted genes—particularly Gnas and Grb10—as targets of both chemical exposures across multiple tissues, with some DNA methylation signatures in blood matching those in target organs like liver and brain, suggesting blood tests could potentially detect toxic exposures affecting other organs. Notably, lead exposure caused consistent hypermethylation of the Grb10 gene’s control region in both blood and liver of male offspring, providing preliminary evidence that epigenetic changes in easily accessible blood samples might serve as biomarkers for chemical exposures affecting critical organs like the brain. These findings are significant for breast cancer prevention because early-life exposures to lead and phthalates can alter epigenetic programming in ways that may increase disease risk decades later, and identifying blood-based biomarkers could enable early detection of harmful exposures during vulnerable developmental windows.
2024
Int J Environ Res Public Health
A systematic review of 25 epidemiological studies (2013-2022) found that seven out of eight investigated outdoor air pollutants showed significant associations with increased breast cancer risk, with benzo[a]pyrene showing the strongest relationship. The review found that 100% of studies examining nitrogen oxides (NOₓ), 83% of PM₂.₅ studies, 69% of nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) studies, and 43% of PM₁₀ studies demonstrated positive associations with breast cancer risk, with hazard ratios ranging from 1.05-1.56 and odds ratios from 1.03-1.86, while ozone and cadmium showed negative or no associations. These findings strengthen the evidence that outdoor air pollution—particularly traffic-related pollutants and fine particulate matter—contributes to breast cancer development, though the authors note that further research is needed to establish causal mechanisms, particularly through epigenetic pathways, and acknowledge that the review’s focus on English-language articles from developed countries may limit generalizability.
2024
J Hazard Mater
A study analyzing 162 non-alcoholic beverages found that 63 endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) were present in 144 products, with concentrations highest in metal-canned beverages and significantly lower or absent in glass, plastic, and carton packaging. Bisphenol A (BPA) levels were notably elevated in canned drinks compared to identical products from the same manufacturers packaged in glass or plastic, and researchers identified two previously unknown BPA structural isomers in beverages for the first time. The calculated daily BPA exposure from average beverage consumption (364 mL/day) exceeded the European Food Safety Authority’s revised safety guideline by up to 2,000-fold, suggesting that regular consumption of canned non-alcoholic beverages—particularly by young children—poses a potential health hazard due to EDC exposure from packaging materials.
2023
Res Square
A study of 104 drinking water sources across Iranian cities found dangerous levels of arsenic and chromium exceeding safety standards in some locations, with the highest arsenic concentrations in Bashet (15.47 µg/L) and chromium in Behmai (292.21 µg/L), both significantly above acceptable limits. Health risk assessments showed that arsenic exposure in Bashet and chromium exposure in Behmai posed definite cancer risks (risk factors exceeding 1), with cancer risks from contaminated drinking water confirmed in multiple cities including Bashet, Gachsaran, and Behmai. These findings highlight a serious public health concern, as chronic exposure to these carcinogenic heavy metals through drinking water can increase risks for various cancers including breast cancer, underscoring the urgent need for water treatment interventions and alternative water sources in affected communities.
2023
Endocrinol Metab Clin North Am
Multiple social and structural determinants of health undoubtedly contribute to the marked racial/ethnic-, gender-, and socioeconomic-based disparities in endocrine health; however, the contribution of environmental injustice is vastly underappreciated. Indeed, those groups disproportionately burdened by endocrine disorders are often exposed to higher levels of various EDCs, including PCBs, phthalates, bisphenols, OC pesticides, air pollutants, PFASs, toxic metals/metalloids, and BFRs. These chemicals threaten our reproductive and metabolic health, contributing to diabetes prevalences, obesity, and disorders related to hormonal regulation. This review increases awareness of these disparities and encouraged equitable healthcare for those who are disadvantaged.
2023
Environ Res
A meta-analysis of 17 epidemiological studies examining cadmium exposure and breast cancer risk found no statistically significant associations overall or when examining specific exposure routes separately (dietary cadmium or biomarker-based studies), with substantial heterogeneity between studies and no clear patterns by menopausal status. The inconclusive findings leave critical questions about whether specific exposure routes (occupational, air pollution, smoking) pose different risks than dietary intake or whether residual confounding by tobacco smoke constituents may influence observed associations. These results highlight the need for future research with better exposure assessment methods that can distinguish between different cadmium sources and routes of exposure, particularly occupational and environmental air pollution exposures that may be more relevant than diet for populations living near industrial areas where cadmium contamination is prevalent.
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.
2022
Environ Res
A case-control study of 499 breast cancer patients and 499 controls in Northern Mexico found that women with breast cancer had distinct patterns of urinary metal exposure, with higher concentrations of tin and lower concentrations of vanadium, cobalt, and molybdenum compared to controls. Using principal component analysis to identify metal mixtures, researchers discovered two distinct exposure patterns with opposite breast cancer associations: a mixture containing chromium, nickel, antimony, aluminum, lead, and tin showed a 15% increased risk, while a mixture of molybdenum and cobalt showed a 44% reduced risk. This is the first study to identify specific urinary metal mixture profiles associated with breast cancer, highlighting that metals may interact synergistically or antagonistically rather than acting independently, and underscoring the critical need for mixture-based approaches in environmental health research—since real-world exposures involve multiple simultaneous contaminants whose combined effects may differ substantially from predictions based on individual metals alone—along with mechanistic studies to understand how metal interactions influence breast carcinogenesis.
2022
Int Arch Occup Environ Health
A nationwide retrospective cohort study of over 4.7 million Taiwanese workers found that occupational exposure to specific hazardous chemicals was associated with significantly elevated breast cancer risk among female workers, with asbestos showing the highest increase (107% increased incidence, 80% increased risk after adjusting for age and exposure duration). Other notable associations included 1,1,2,2-tetrachloroethane (74% increased incidence, 52% adjusted risk increase), trichloroethylene/tetrachloroethylene (47% increased incidence, 42% adjusted risk increase), benzene (40% increased incidence, 38% adjusted risk increase), and lead (27% increased incidence, 31% adjusted risk increase), with associations remaining robust even after accounting for 2- or 5-year latency periods. These findings from 3,248 breast cancer cases among exposed workers provide compelling evidence that occupational chemical exposures substantially increase breast cancer risk, highlighting the urgent need for enhanced workplace protections, regular breast cancer screening programs for exposed workers, substitution of safer alternatives where possible, and recognition of breast cancer as an occupational disease for workers with documented exposure to these carcinogens.
2022
Biomed Pharmacother
A review of endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs)—ubiquitous substances found in cosmetics, plastic food packaging, and medicines that enter the body through skin, digestive, or respiratory routes—examined their toxic effects even at microgram doses on the female reproductive system and genetic mechanisms. EDCs disrupt endocrine functions by binding to steroid hormone receptors, interfering with hormone synthesis and secretion, and modulating epigenetic processes that can lead to gene expression disturbances, contributing to neoplastic diseases, neurological disorders, circulatory problems, and reproductive dysfunction. Prenatal exposure can affect offspring development, with particular impacts on ovarian function leading to reduced fertility through disturbances in steroid receptor function, steroidogenesis, and gametogenesis. The review emphasizes that despite widespread exposure to these chemicals in everyday products, continued research is needed to fully understand their effects on the female reproductive system and potential transgenerational impacts mediated through epigenetic mechanisms.
2021
Sci Rep
A nested case-control study of 4,401 breast cancer cases and 4,401 matched controls from the French E3N cohort found no overall association between long-term airborne cadmium exposure and breast cancer stage or tumor grade, but identified a striking 240% increased risk of invasive tubular carcinoma (ITC)—a specific breast cancer subtype—among women in the highest versus lowest quintile of cadmium exposure. The dose-response analysis suggested a linear relationship between cadmium exposure and ITC risk specifically, though no associations were found for other histological subtypes or more advanced disease. These findings suggest that cadmium’s estrogenic properties may selectively promote certain breast cancer subtypes rather than broadly increasing all breast cancer risk, highlighting the importance of examining cancer heterogeneity in environmental exposure studies and raising concerns about air pollution from industrial sources, waste incineration, and fossil fuel combustion that release cadmium into the environment.
2021
Environ Res
Biodegradable polymers are emerging as a promising solution for removing endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) from wastewater. EDC’s, found in pharmaceuticals, pesticides, and personal care products pose serious health risks, impacting the endocrine system and disrupting reproductive health. Traditional water treatments often fail to fully remove EDCs. Biodegradable polymers, with strong adsorptive properties, offer a sustainable and effective method, helping to minimize EDC exposure and protect human and environmental health.
2021
Adv Pharmacol
A comprehensive review examining endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) in breast tissue concludes that hundreds of these environmental chemicals are entering human breast tissue and contributing to the global rise in breast cancer incidence through multiple biological mechanisms. Laboratory studies demonstrate that EDCs can activate all the established “hallmarks of cancer” in human breast cancer cells—even at concentrations measured in actual human breast tissue—with effects amplified when chemicals are present as mixtures rather than individually. The authors argue that EDCs must now be formally recognized as a breast cancer risk factor to enable prevention strategies that include reducing environmental chemical exposures, particularly given that the varied mixtures of EDCs found in individual breast tissues act through overlapping mechanisms to promote cancer development.
2020
Environ Res
A systematic review of 100 publications across 56 epidemiologic studies found that research enriched with women at higher baseline breast cancer risk—through family history, early-onset disease, or genetic susceptibility—consistently showed stronger and more frequent associations between environmental chemical exposures and breast cancer compared to average-risk populations. Specifically, 80% of studies enriched with family history or early-onset cases showed significant associations with exposures including PAHs, air pollution, DDT, PCBs, PFAS, metals, personal care products, and occupational chemicals, while 74% of studies examining genetic susceptibility found significant gene-environment interactions for various pollutants in women with variants affecting carcinogen metabolism, DNA repair, and oxidative stress. These findings suggest that the inconsistent evidence for environmental chemicals and breast cancer in the literature may partly stem from studying predominantly average-risk populations who may be less susceptible to environmental carcinogens, highlighting the critical need for future research to focus on high-risk populations and measure exposures during key windows of susceptibility (puberty, pregnancy, menopause) to more accurately capture the role of environmental chemicals in breast cancer development.
2020
Environ Int
A systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of 10 cohort studies found no clear association between cadmium exposure and breast cancer risk, whether assessed through dietary intake or urinary excretion levels, with all analyses showing non-significant results. Analysis restricted to postmenopausal women also showed no associations, and while data were insufficient to examine potential associations in specific subgroups defined by age, smoking status, or hormone receptor status, the overall evidence does not support cadmium as a breast cancer risk factor. The authors note that available data were too limited to rule out possible associations in selected vulnerable subgroups, highlighting the need for future studies with better exposure assessment and larger sample sizes to detect subgroup-specific effects if they exist.
2019
Int J Cancer
A meta-analysis of three nested case-control studies (CPS-II, EPIC-Italy, and NSHDS) including 1,435 breast cancer cases and 1,433 controls examined whether erythrocyte levels of cadmium and lead—both classified as carcinogens—were associated with breast cancer risk. Cadmium levels showed no association with breast cancer in the CPS-II cohort, inverse associations in the EPIC-Italy and NSHDS cohorts, and an overall inverse trend in the meta-analysis (continuous RR = 0.84; 95% CI 0.69-1.01), while large differences in lead distributions across studies prevented meta-analysis, and no individual study found associations between lead and breast cancer risk. These findings indicate that despite cadmium and lead being established carcinogens with persistent environmental presence and ubiquitous human exposure, circulating levels of these metals in adulthood were not associated with increased breast cancer risk in this large pooled analysis. The unexpected inverse association with cadmium observed in some cohorts requires further investigation to understand potential biological mechanisms or confounding factors.
2015
Carcinogenesis
This study explores the linkage between environmental chemical exposures and cellular resistance to cell death, a carcinogenic trait. The researchers in this study specifically investigate BPA, chlorothalonil, dibutyl phthalate, and more because of their disruptive effects that may be involved in these carcinogenic pathways. The researchers found that arsenic interferes with cellular signaling pathways and induces oxidative stress, leading to impaired apoptosis; dioxins bind to aryl hydrocarbon receptors (AHRs), which alters gene expression and disrupts normal cell death processes; BPA mimics the estrogen hormone, affecting hormonal balance and promoting cell survival pathways that inhibit cell death. By allowing cells to evade cell death, these environmental chemicals can promote the survival of cells with genetic mutations and therefore increase the risk of cancer development.
2014
Aging Dis
The following review article described how exposure to EDCs during early development can lead to adverse health outcomes later in life through epigenetic mechanisms based on existing studies. The article emphasizes that exposure to EDCs during critical developmental periods such as in utero and early childhood, can have lasting effects on health since, during these periods, the body’s systems are particularly vulnerable to exposures. Additionally, the article finds a link between early-life exposure to EDCs and increased risk of various health issues later on in life, including metabolic disorders and cancers. The suspected mechanism by which these chemicals do this is thought to be mediated by epigenetic changes, which are changes to gene expression without altering the DNA. Therefore, the article emphasizes understanding how exposure during such sensitive periods in development can pose such drastic problems later on in life.
2025
Environ Res
A study analyzing 156 commercially available prenatal vitamins, 19 folate/folic acid supplements, and 9 prescription prenatals found widespread contamination with heavy metals and phthalates: 83% of commercial prenatals contained detectable lead (15% exceeding California’s 0.5 μg/daily threshold), 73% contained cadmium, 25% contained DEHP, and 13% contained DBP, with higher contamination associated with calcium and iron content and caplet/capsule/tablet formulations. Prescription prenatals also showed contamination, with 7 of 9 containing detectable lead or cadmium and 33% exceeding the lead threshold, while folate/folic acid supplements showed lower contamination levels. These findings reveal that pregnant women—a population particularly vulnerable to environmental chemical exposures—are being exposed to lead, cadmium, and endocrine-disrupting phthalates through the very supplements intended to support healthy pregnancy. Since prenatal supplementation remains critical for fetal development, pregnant women should prioritize products with third-party verification seals (such as USP, NSF International, or ConsumerLab) which confirm label accuracy, purity, and manufacturing standards, and clear, enforceable regulations requiring frequent testing and strict contamination limits are urgently needed.
2024
J Clin Endocrinol Metab
A longitudinal study of 549 women with 2,252 repeated anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) measurements over the 10 years preceding final menstrual period found that elevated arsenic levels were associated with a 32.1% decline in AMH concentrations and elevated mercury levels with a 40.7% decline over the decade, while elevated cadmium and mercury showed significant per-year declines of 9.0% and 7.3% respectively. The findings indicate that higher exposure to heavy metals—particularly arsenic, cadmium, and mercury—is correlated with accelerated depletion of ovarian reserve (remaining viable eggs) in women approaching menopause. This study suggests that environmental heavy metal exposure may contribute to earlier reproductive aging and diminished ovarian function.
2023
Sci Total Environ
In a small case-control study of 150 women with breast cancer and age-matched controls, all of whom had never smoked, cobalt was inversely associated with breast cancer risk (OR=.33, 95%CI;0.12-.91). Other metals (cadmium, chromium, manganese, lead, and thallium) were not associated with breast cancer.
2022
Toxicol Rep
This study focused on arsenic (As) and lead (Pb) being in baby foods due to their known health risks, such as developmental, reproductive, and carcinogenic effects. Arsenic exposure comes mainly from rice-based products and could cause significant health risks. Lead was found in some grains and root vegetables, indicating potential exposure to health effects. The study concluded that exposure to these metals from baby foods had been found to be at safe levels. However, an exception was made for rice products because of arsenic natural abundance in soil. Even though levels of these metals in baby foods have been found to be under safe levels, monitoring of infant food should be continued for these metals and others.