By Charles Bankhead
Source Medpagetoday
Long-term exposure to air pollution may increase women’s risk of breast cancer, a large cohort study suggests.
Breast cancer risk increased incrementally by 28% with increasing exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5). The association was similar across racial/ethnic groups and irrespective of hormone receptor status. A meta-analysis of this and 10 other prospective cohorts showed a trend toward increased breast cancer risk with greater PM2.5 exposure.
“As about half of breast cancer risk cannot be explained by established breast cancer risk factors and incidence is continuing to increase, particularly in low- and middle-income countries, our results highlight that breast cancer prevention should include not only individual-level behavior-centered approaches but also population-wide policies and regulations to curb PM2.5 exposure,” concluded Anna H. Wu, PhD, MPH, of the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine in Los Angeles, and co-authors in the Journal of Clinical Oncologyopens in a new tab or window.
Read more https://www.medpagetoday.com/hematologyoncology/breastcancer/112659