USC Environmental Health Centers

Current news, events and research projects of the Environmental Health Centers based at USC

References: Breast Health and the Environment

Factors that Increase and Decrease Breast Cancer Risk

Cheng, I., Tseng, C., Wu, J., Yang, J., Conroy, S. M., Shariff-Marco, S., Li, L., Hertz, A., Gomez, S. L., Le Marchand, L., Whittemore, A. S., Stram, D. O., Ritz, B., & Wu, A. H. (2020). Association between ambient air pollution and breast cancer risk: The multiethnic cohort study. International journal of cancer, 146(3), 699–711. https://doi.org/10.1002/ijc.32308

Chlebowski, R. T., Hendrix, S. L., Langer, R. D., Stefanick, M. L., Gass, M., Lane, D., Rodabough, R. J., Gilligan, M. A., Cyr, M. G., Thomson, C. A., Khandekar, J., Petrovitch, H., McTiernan, A., & WHI Investigators (2003). Influence of estrogen plus progestin on breast cancer and mammography in healthy postmenopausal women: the Women's Health Initiative Randomized Trial. JAMA, 289(24), 3243–3253. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.289.24.3243

Collaborative Group on Hormonal Factors in Breast Cancer (2012). Menarche, menopause, and breast cancer risk: individual participant meta-analysis, including 118 964 women with breast cancer from 117 epidemiological studies. The Lancet. Oncology, 13(11), 1141–1151. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1470-2045(12)70425-4

Collaborative Group on Hormonal Factors in Breast Cancer (2019). Type and timing of menopausal hormone therapy and breast cancer risk: individual participant meta-analysis of the worldwide epidemiological evidence. Lancet (London, England), 394(10204), 1159–1168. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(19)31709-X

Gabet, S., Lemarchand, C., Guénel, P., & Slama, R. (2021). Breast Cancer Risk in Association with Atmospheric Pollution Exposure: A Meta-Analysis of Effect Estimates Followed by a Health Impact Assessment. Environmental health perspectives, 129(5), 57012. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP8419

Hart, J., Bertrand, K., DuPre, N., James, P., Vieira, V., VoPham, T., Mittleman, M., Tamimi, R., & Laden, F. (2018). Exposure to hazardous [LE1] air pollutants and risk of incident breast cancer in the nurses’ health study II. Environmental Health, 17(1), 28–28. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12940-018-0372-3

Johnson, K. C., Miller, A. B., Collishaw, N. E., Palmer, J. R., Hammond, S. K., Salmon, A. G., Cantor, K. P., Miller, M. D., Boyd, N. F., Millar, J., & Turcotte, F. (2010). Active smoking and secondhand smoke increase breast cancer risk: the report of the Canadian Expert Panel on Tobacco Smoke and Breast Cancer Risk (2009). Tobacco Control, 20(1), e2. https://doi.org/10.1136/tc.2010.035931

Key, T. J., Verkasalo, P. K., & Banks, E. (2001). Epidemiology of breast cancer. The Lancet. Oncology2(3), 133–140. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1470-2045(00)00254-0

Sauter E. R. (2018). Breast Cancer Prevention: Current Approaches and Future Directions. European journal of breast health, 14(2), 64–71. https://doi.org/10.5152/ejbh.2018.3978

Shiyanbola, O., Arao, R., Miglioretti, D., Sprague, B., Hampton, J., Stout, N., Kerlikowske, K., Braithwaite, D., Buist, D., Egan, K., Newcomb, P., & Trentham-Dietz, A. (2017). Emerging Trends in Family History of Breast Cancer and Associated Risk. Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, 26(12), 1753–1760. https://doi.org/10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-17-0531


Strumylaitė, L., Mechonošina, K., & Tamašauskas, S. (2010). Environmental factors and breast cancer. Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania), 46(12), 867–873. https://doi.org/10.3390/medicina46120121

Terry, M., Zhang, F., Kabat, G., Britton, J., Teitelbaum, S., Neugut, A., & Gammon, M. (2006). Lifetime Alcohol Intake and Breast Cancer Risk. Annals of Epidemiology, 16(3), 230–240. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annepidem.2005.06.048

White, A. J., Keller, J. P., Zhao, S., Carroll, R., Kaufman, J. D., & Sandler, D. P. (2019). Air Pollution, Clustering of Particulate Matter Components, and Breast Cancer in the Sister Study: A U.S.-Wide Cohort. Environmental health perspectives, 127(10), 107002. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP5131

Winters, S., Martin, C., Murphy, D., & Shokar, N. (2017). Breast Cancer Epidemiology, Prevention, and Screening. Progress in Molecular Biology and Translational Science, 151, 1–32. https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.pmbts.2017.07.002

Yıldırım, N., Özkan, M., İlgün, A., Sarsenov, D., Alço, G., Aktepe, F., Kalyoncu, N., İzci, F., Selamoğlu, D., Ordu, Ç., Pilancı, K., İyigün, Z., Eralp, Y., & Özmen, V. (2018). Possible role of stress, coping strategies, and life style in the development of breast cancer. International Journal of Psychiatry in Medicine, 53(3), 207–220. https://doi.org/10.1177/0091217417749789

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Toxins that may Increase Risk of Breast Cancer

Brisken, C. (2008). Endocrine Disruptors and Breast Cancer. CHIMIA International Journal for Chemistry, 62(5), 406–409. https://doi.org/10.2533/chimia.2008.406

Colin, C., Foray, N., Di Leo, G., & Sardanelli, F. (2017). Radiation induced breast cancer risk in BRCA mutation carriers from low-dose radiological exposures: a systematic review. Radioprotection, 52(4), 231–240. https://doi.org/10.1051/radiopro/2017034

Costantini, A. S., Gorini, G., Consonni, D., Miligi, L., Giovannetti, L., & Quinn, M. (2009). Exposure to benzene and risk of breast cancer among shoe factory workers in Italy. Tumori, 95(1), 8–12. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19366049/

Crinnion W. J. (2010). Toxic effects of the easily avoidable phthalates and parabens. Alternative medicine review: a journal of clinical therapeutic, 15(3), 190–196. PMID: 21155623

Leng, L., Li, J., Luo, X. M., Kim, J. Y., Li, Y. M., Guo, X. M., Chen, X., Yang, Q. Y., Li, G., & Tang, N. J. (2016). Polychlorinated biphenyls and breast cancer: A congener-specific meta-analysis. Environment international, 88, 133–141. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2015.12.022

Strumylaitė, L., Mechonošina, K., & Tamašauskas, S. (2010). Environmental factors and breast cancer. Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania), 46(12), 867–873. https://doi.org/10.3390/medicina46120121

VoPham, T., Bertrand, K. A., Jones, R. R., Deziel, N. C., DuPré, N. C., James, P., Liu, Y., Vieira, V. M., Tamimi, R. M., Hart, J. E., Ward, M. H., & Laden, F. (2020). Dioxin exposure and breast cancer risk in a prospective cohort study. Environmental research, 186, 109516. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2020.109516

Wei, Y., Davis, J., & Bina, W. F. (2012). Ambient air pollution is associated with the increased incidence of breast cancer in US. International journal of environmental health research, 22(1), 12–21. https://doi.org/10.1080/09603123.2011.588321

Yang, K. J., Lee, J., & Park, H. L. (2020). Organophosphate Pesticide Exposure and Breast Cancer Risk: A Rapid Review of Human, Animal, and Cell-Based Studies. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(14), 5030. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17145030

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What is breast cancer? What are the causes? 

National Cancer Institute. Breast Changes and Conditions. https://www.cancer.gov/types/breast/breast-changes.  Accessed June 2021

Susan G. Komen.  What is Breast Cancer?  https://www.komen.org/breast-cancer/facts-statistics/what-is-breast-cancer.  Accessed June 2021

Akram, M., Iqbal, M., Daniyal, M., & Khan, A. U. (2017). Awareness and current knowledge of breast cancer. Biological research, 50(1), 33. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40659-017-0140-9

Sun, Y. S., Zhao, Z., Yang, Z. N., Xu, F., Lu, H. J., Zhu, Z. Y., Shi, W., Jiang, J., Yao, P. P., & Zhu, H. P. (2017). Risk Factors and Preventions of Breast Cancer. International journal of biological sciences, 13(11), 1387–1397. https://doi.org/10.7150/ijbs.21635

Winters, S., Martin, C., Murphy, D., & Shokar, N. (2017). Breast Cancer Epidemiology, Prevention, and Screening. Progress in Molecular Biology and Translational Science, 151, 1–32. https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.pmbts.2017.07.002

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Signs and Symptoms

Susan G. Komen.  Warning Signs of Breast Cancer. https://www.komen.org/breast-cancer/signs-symptoms/warning-signs.  Accessed June 2021 

Apantaku, L. M. (2000). Breast cancer diagnosis and screening. American Family Physician, 62(3), 596-602. PMID: 10950215

Bonsu, A. B., & Ncama, B. P. (2019). Recognizing and appraising symptoms of breast cancer as a reason for delayed presentation in Ghanaian women: A qualitative study. PloS one, 14(1), e0208773. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0208773

Koo, M. M., von Wagner, C., Abel, G. A., McPhail, S., Rubin, G. P., & Lyratzopoulos, G. (2017). Typical and atypical presenting symptoms of breast cancer and their associations with diagnostic intervals: Evidence from a national audit of cancer diagnosis. Cancer epidemiology, 48, 140–146. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.canep.2017.04.010

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Screening and Early Diagnosis are the Best Ways to Prevent Breast Cancer

American Cancer Society.  Cancer Facts & Figures for Hispanics/Latinos 2018-2020. Atlanta: American Cancer Society, Inc. 2018.

Breast Cancer Screening (PDQ®)–Patient Version. National Cancer Institute. https://www.cancer.gov/types/breast/patient/breast-screening-pdq.  Accessed June 2021

Brewster, A., & Helzlsouer, K. (2001). Breast cancer epidemiology, prevention, and early detection. Current opinion in oncology, 13(6), 420–425. https://doi.org/10.1097/00001622-200111000-00002

Coleman, C. (2017). Early Detection and Screening for Breast Cancer. Seminars in Oncology Nursing, 33(2), 141–155. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soncn.2017.02.009

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