ByResearchers at the National Institutes of Health found that living in an area with high levels of particulate air pollution was associated with an increased incidence of breast cancer. The study, published in the, is one of the largest studies to date looking at the relationship between outdoor air pollution, specifically fine particulate matter, and breast cancer incidence.
“We observed an 8% increase in breast cancer incidence for living in areas with higher PM2.5 exposure. Although this is a relatively modest increase, these findings are significant given that air pollution is a ubiquitous exposure that impacts almost everyone,” said Alexandra White, Ph.D., lead author and head of the Environment and Cancer Epidemiology Group at NIEHS. “These findings add to a growing body of literature suggesting that air pollution is related to breast cancer.
The researchers estimated annual average historical PM2.5 concentrations for each participant’s residence. They were particularly interested in air pollution exposures during a period of 10-15 years prior to enrollment in the study, given the length of time it takes for some cancers to develop. Most previous studies have assessed breast cancer risk in relation to air pollution around the time of study enrollment and did not consider past exposures.
To consider how the relationship between air pollution and breast cancer varied by the type of tumor, the researchers evaluated estrogen receptor-positive and -negative tumors separately. They found that PM2.5 was associated with a higher incidence of ER+ breast cancer, but not ER-, tumors. This suggests that PM2.5 may affect breast cancer through an underlying biologic pathway of endocrine disruption. ER+ tumors are the most common tumors diagnosed among women in the United States.
Health Health Latest News, Health Health Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Source: bbchealth - 🏆 143. / 63 Read more »