Last night I attended a community forum sponsored by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) and the Bay Area Breast Cancer and the Environment Research Center (BCERC). The event was held in Sausalito, CA. What I learned can be found at the very tip of a monumental iceberg of research information. I thought I’d share the more interesting findings here.

Keynote speaker Dr. Linda Birnbaum, director of the NIEHS and the National Toxicology Program, spoke of the environmental triggers of breast cancer. She noted that it is a “major killer of U.S. women, and it’s an equal opportunity killer.” Contributors to breast cancer, she said, are obesity, stress, environmental toxins, and exposure to such chemicals as PCBs, dioxins, and BPA.*

Other factors being studied as possible causes of breast cancer include:

• Chemicals used in beauty salons.
• Exposure to diesel fumes.
• Endocrine disruptors, which influence estrogen production. These disruptors can be found in plastics and in cosmetics.
• Synthetic estrogens.
• Flame retardants, which are used in everything from furniture to computers.
• Certain pesticides.
• Exposure to truck exhaust.

Dr. Birnbaum, and six distinguished panelists who joined her on the dais, addressed a wide range of possible causes of breast cancer. They did note that it is difficult to pinpoint any one cause because there are a number of different types of the disease. Panelist Jeanne Rizzo, president and CEO of the Breast Cancer Fund, noted that radiation is a carcinogen. For that reason, and others, mammography is not the best way to screen women. According to Rizzo, a less risky, non-invasive method of screening is needed.

Interestingly, it takes twenty to thirty years for breast cancer to develop in women. This is why one study is now following girls in puberty. Researchers want to know what “environmental factors contribute to early puberty and which exposures that occur in puberty may increase breast cancer later in life.” Parents are urged to encourage their daughters to maintain a healthy weight, exercise, and avoid using plastic products where possible. (Source: Puberty, Breast Cancer, and the Environment. A report from the BCERC.)

After the formal presentations, I approached panelist Janice Barlow, executive director of the Zero Breast Cancer organization. I wanted to know whether Marin County’s water supply is being studied, because the incidence of breast cancer is so high in Marin. She told me a study expected to be released in the spring of 2010 has identified five neighborhoods in the county with uncommonly high numbers of women with breast cancer. And yes, the San Francisco Bay Area water supply is of interest because of the prevalence of serpentine rock over which our water flows. Serpentine rock contains cadmium and asbestos, known carcinogens.

For more information on this forum and breast cancer research, go to: http://bayarea.bcerc.org/ and http://zerobreastcancer.org/.

*1. PCBs--PolyChlorinated Biphenyls, a mixture of up to 209 chlorinated chemicals. Although PCBs are no longer produced in the U.S., PCBs are still found in the environment. The manufacture of PCBs was stopped in the U.S. in 1977 because of evidence they build up in the environment and can cause harmful health effects. (Source: http://www.medterms.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=19548)

2. Dioxins--Dioxins are environmental pollutants. They have the dubious distinction of belonging to the “dirty dozen”—a group of dangerous chemicals known as persistent organic pollutants. Dioxins are of concern because of their highly toxic potential. Experiments have shown they affect a number of organs and systems. (Source: http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs225/en/index.html)

3. BPA--Bisphenol A is commonly abbreviated as BPA. As the building block of polycarbonate plastic and a component of epoxy resins, BPA is used in thousands of consumer products, including food packaging. Research suggests that BPA exposure may contribute to the epidemic of breast cancer now and in the future. BPA exposure has been shown to interfere with chemotherapy treatment for breast cancer. (Source: http://www.breastcancerfund.org/site/c.kwKXLdPaE/b.2638145/k.1E45/Chemical_Fact_Sheet_Bisphenol_A.htm)