State of the Evidence: What is the Connection between Breast Cancer & Chemicals

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State of the Evidence: What is the Connection between Chemicals & Breast

Cancer?edited by Nancy Evans

© 2003 by The Breast Cancer Fund and Breast Cancer Action

 

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Order Your Own Copy Here EXECUTIVE SUMMARYB reast cancer rates have been

climbing steadily in the United States and other industrialized countries since

the 1940's. Billions of dollars have been spent in an effort to stem this

unrelenting tide, yet more than 50 percent of breast cancer cases remain

unexplained by the characteristics and risk factors associated with the disease.

Ionizing radiation is the only proven environmental cause of human breast

cancer. But powerful circumstantial evidence indicates that some of the 85,000

synthetic chemicals in use today are responsible for many of the unexplained

cases of the disease. While scientists have not yet developed an ideal method

for linking chemical exposures to breast cancer, several types of research -

experimental, body burden and ecological studies - provide strong evidence of

the connection between chemicals and breast cancer.

Because the types of evidence vary, the strength of the evidence linking

chemicals and breast cancer also varies. The strongest evidence linking

chemicals to breast cancer -- based on the fact that lifetime exposure to

natural estrogens increases the risk of breast cancer -- concerns natural and

synthetic estrogens, including drugs like diethylstilbestrol (DES), plastic

additives like bisphenol-A (BPA), polyvinyl chloride (PVC) (found in many

consumer products), dieldrin and some pesticides. Other synthetic substances

strongly linked to breast cancer through experimental evidence are: organic

solvents (used in many manufacturing processes, including the manufacture of

computer components), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) (created in soot

and fumes from burning diesel, fuels or cigarettes) and 1,3 butadiene (a

by-product of internal combustion engines).

There are also chemicals for which the evidence indicates a probable but less

certain link to breast cancer. These chemicals include dioxin (created when

plastics or other materials containing chlorine are burned), the pesticide DDT

(dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane) and its metabolite, DDE and PCBs

(polychlorinated biphenyls), previously used in the manufacture of electrical

equipment and other industrial and consumer products.

Finally, there is evidence of chemicals that affect how the body functions in

ways that suggest a possible link between these substances and breast cancer.

These chemicals include the insecticide heptachlor and phthalates, used to make

plastic soft and flexible.

We clearly have major gaps in our current knowledge about the links between

breast cancer and the environment. Therefore, we need to focus our research

efforts in areas that are most likely to provide useful information for framing

public policies related to chemical exposures and our health. The types of

research most likely to produce useful evidence will be those examining: (1)

workplace exposures, (2) household exposures and (3) breast milk as a marker for

human contamination.

While we pursue the research that will lead to more definitive answers, the

existing evidence linking chemicals to breast cancer demands that we act now as

a society to begin removing many of these substances from our environment.

Considerable resources are spent encouraging women to make changes in their

personal lives in an effort to reduce their risk of breast cancer. But breast

cancer is not just a personal tragedy; it is a public health crisis that demands

action by society as a whole.

This crisis must be addressed by beginning now to implement the precautionary

principle. Under this principle, evidence of harm, rather than definitive proof

of harm, is the trigger for policy action. In addition, the precautionary

principle mandates that the burden of proof with regard to chemicals rests with

the manufacturers to demonstrate that the substances are safe, rather than with

the public to show that they are harmful. Finally, the precautionary principle

rests on the democratic principle that government officials are obligated to

serve the public's interest in human health and environmental protection.

The following 5-point plan will help us reduce the risk of breast cancer and

ultimately end the epidemic:

PHASE OUT TOXIC CHEMICALS that are omnipresent in the lives of so many

people.

ENACT " SUNSHINE " LAWS AND ENFORCE EXISTING ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION LAWS to

reduce the use of toxics by requiring companies to report how many tons of

chemicals they use.

PRACTICE HEALTHY PURCHASING, with local, state and federal governments

leading the way in purchasing environmentally preferable products, thereby

creating an example for individuals to follow.

OFFER CORPORATE INCENTIVES that encourage businesses to eliminate the use of

harmful chemicals in their products and processes.

MONITOR BREAST MILK, through a comprehensive community program that

identifies the chemicals present in breast milk, establishes links to geographic

areas and initiates a plan to eliminate these contaminants.

We ignore at our peril the increasing evidence that chemicals are contributing

to the rising tide of breast cancer. The obligation to understand this evidence,

and begin to address it through the implementation of public policies that put

health first, rests with all of us. It is in our power to change the course we

are on. Now is the time.

TABLE OF CONTENTSIntroduction

 

The Purpose of This Paper

 

Why Chemicals?

 

Types of Evidence: A Primer

 

Evidence that Chemicals Cause Breast Cancer

 

Evidence Indicating a Probable Link Between Chemicals and Breast Cancer

 

Evidence Indicating a Possible Link Between Chemicals and Breast Cancer

http://www.breastcancerfund.org/environment_evidence_main.htm

 

 

 

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