No Link Seen Between Breast Cancer And Pesticides, PCB Exposure For General ...( reproductive and medical history and o...)

Researchers also drew blood samples and measured levels of DDE, HCB, mirex and PCBs. Organochlorine pesticides and PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls, were used widely in the U.S. until the 1970s, when they were banned from commercial production due to concerns about potential harmful health effects.

Since these compounds are stored in body fat and are not easily broken down, they accumulate in the body over time. Some of these chemicals have been shown to increase estrogen activity in animals and consequently have been linked to breast-cancer risk.

Moysich said the study results suggest that environmental exposure to organochlorines is related to the risk of breast cancer only in postmenopausal women who have never breast-fed, and is not a risk factor for breast cancer for the population at large.

"It is tempting to blame environmental exposure to potential carcinogens for causing breast cancer, because there is little to be done about it," said Moysich. "It eliminates the responsibility for changing one's lifestyle or habits. But our study and others don't show an adverse effect for the general population."

Also participating in the study were Christine Ambrosone, Ph.D.; John Vena, Ph.D.; James Marshall, Ph.D.; Saxon Graham, Ph.D.; Rosemary Laughlin, Ph.D.; Pauline Mendola, Ph.D., and Jo Freudenheim, Ph.D., all current or former faculty members in the UB Department of Social and Preventive Medicine. Also, Enrique Schisterman, doctoral candidate in the department; Peter Shields, M.D., of the National Cancer Institute, and Paul Kostyniak, Ph.D., of the UB Toxicology Research Center.

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Contact: Lois Baker
baker@newsb.buffalo.edu
716-645-2626
University at Buffalo
20-Aug-1997