
By Suzanne Price, BCPP CEO
Recently there have been several news stories highlighting the trend of rising rates of cancer among young people, especially breast cancers in young women. Most of these stories do not provide answers as to why this trend is occurring.
At BCPP, we have spent 30 years trying to understand the reason behind rising rates of breast cancer and working tirelessly to reverse this alarming trend.
The Problem
- 1 in 8 women will be diagnosed in her lifetime in the U.S. Yet, 90% of breast cancer cases are not linked to genetics alone and could be prevented.
- Diagnoses of breast cancer have increased steadily in women under age 50 over the past two decades, with steeper increases in more recent years, according to a study led by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. According to this study, between 2010 and 2019, diagnoses among people aged 30 to 39 increased 19.4 percent. Among those aged 20 to 29, the increase was 5.3 percent.
- The rate of late-stage breast cancer diagnoses in young women also has been climbing. In women under the age of 40, the rate has increased by about 3 percent each year from 2000 to 2019, according to data from the American Cancer Society and while breast cancer mortality rates for older women declined from 2010 to 2017, the rate among younger women did not decrease.
What could be causing this problem?
Our environment has changed drastically over the last fifty years. Women who are currently in their thirties and forties have grown up around more toxic chemicals than ever before. The generation currently experiencing higher rates of breast cancer is the first generation to have been exposed to these increased chemicals during the crucial developmental periods of infancy and puberty. As such, we are now witnessing the result of the cumulative effect of fifty years of exposure to toxic chemicals. Some key facts:
- Approximately 80,000 chemicals have been introduced in the United States since the 1970s and less than 5% of these have been evaluated for carcinogenic effects.
- There are 10,000 industrial chemicals used in personal care products alone.
- The European Union has banned 2,400+ toxic chemicals while the United States has restricted just 11.
- The average American uses 12 personal care products daily and is exposed to 168 unique chemicals every day.
- A recent study identified over 900 breast cancer-relevant chemicals in current use, including mammary carcinogens, chemicals and ionizing radiation that activate estrogenic or progestogenic hormonal signaling pathways. These chemicals include PFAS, benzenes, bisphenols, phthalates, halogenated and vinyl compounds, drinking water disinfection byproducts, benzidine-based dyes, and pesticide ingredients.
- We are currently exposed to unprecedented levels of microplastics and the toxic chemicals that travel along with them. Plastic chemicals and additives that increase breast cancer risk include vinyl chloride, PFAS, phthalates, and flame retardants. These chemicals all tend to cling to microplastic surfaces, which can introduce harmful chemicals into the body.
- Marginalized communities are the most vulnerable. For example, we know that pregnant Black and Latinx, women have higher documented levels of many harmful chemicals.
What are endocrine disrupting chemicals?
- Endocrine disruptors are chemicals that mimic hormones, such as estrogen or progesterone. Some chemicals in the environment, for example flame retardants, PFAS chemicals, fragrances, and plasticizers, like phthalates and BPA, have been shown to be endocrine disrupting substances and been linked to different kinds of cancer including breast cancer.
- We are currently exposed to endocrine disruptors in our daily lives through the food we eat, the water we drink, our house dust, and especially the products we use. Some of the endocrine disruptors that have been linked to breast cancer include phthalates, which are used in a lot of fragrances and personal care products and bisphenols such as BPA, which has been proven to leach from packaging into food. Other chemicals like flame retardants, perfluorinated chemicals, which are used in nonstick cookware, stain repellent products, and pesticides have also been linked to breast cancer.
- In addition, endocrine disrupting chemicals that are linked to breast cancer are also linked to other problems such as earlier onset of puberty, obesity, infertility, and other cancers.
How could small amounts of chemicals have such a large effect?
- The notion that a small amount of a chemical cannot be harmful doesn’t apply when it comes to endocrine-disrupting chemicals. Hormones work at extremely low concentrations in our body because they are powerful chemical messengers, and chemicals that act like those hormones – such as BPA acting like estrogen – also have profound impacts at very, very low levels. One part per million of hormone disrupting chemicals can have an effect. That is the same as a drop of water in an Olympic size swimming pool.
- Additionally, combinations of chemicals (mixtures) also known as toxic chemical cocktails, have different effects than single chemicals alone as well. Interactions between toxic chemicals, environmental exposures, social factors and genetics all play a role in breast cancer.
- Lastly, when continually exposed to these small but potent levels of endocrine disrupting chemicals over time, the impact is amplified.
How can we address this problem?
Most of what we encounter is beyond our individual control. That is why the highest impact solutions are systemic. The food we eat, the air we breathe, the water we drink, the clothes we wear, the products we use, and the places we live, learn, and work may contain chemicals known to cause breast cancer. That is why Breast Cancer Prevention Partners (BCPP) works to change laws, regulations, and business practices across the United States, so that the environment will be safer for everyone. Nobody should have to be a scientist or require access to specialty products to be informed and avoid chemicals that could increase their risk of breast cancer.
What can we do as individuals to help reduce our exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs)?
Though ultimately, the real solution must be systemic, there are some steps you can take to protect yourself and your family, such as avoiding plastics in your kitchen and using fragrance-free personal care products. Check out our an extended list of tips on what you as an individual can do.
About Breast Cancer Prevention Partners (BCPP)
BCPP works to eliminate the known risk factors linked to breast cancer—to save lives and prevent the disease before it starts. For 30 years, we have been the leading science-based policy and advocacy organization working to eliminate our exposure to toxic chemicals and other environmental exposures linked to breast cancer.
BCPP has published 33 scientific studies and reports, has caused 19 state and federal laws to be enacted, such as banning BPA from baby bottles and phthalates from plastic toys, and has secured over 16 major market victories, such as Johnson and Johnson’s global discontinuation of its talc baby powder.
At BCPP, we:
- Work with communities most highly impacted by the environmental exposures linked to breast cancer.
- Translate science into education and action.
- Press businesses to make products safer.
- Work to pass health-protective laws.
There is still so much work ahead of us.
BCPP continues to fight to improve regulations and ingredient disclosures, to push companies to manufacture safer products, and to educate consumers about making healthier choices. We need your help to share this message so that we can move this mission for a healthier environment forward even faster.
Please reach out to our team of scientists and policy experts as a resource for any stories relating to rising rates of breast cancer or other related environmental health concerns, such as infertility and early puberty, and the associated risk factors. We appreciate your interest and support.
Please send all queries to Suzanne@bcpp.org