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Air Pollution and Breast Cancer: a Review

  • Environmental Epidemiology (F Laden and J Hart, Section Editors)
  • Published:
Current Epidemiology Reports Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose of Review

Breast cancer is the most common cancer diagnosed among US women. Air pollution is a pervasive mixture of chemicals containing carcinogenic compounds and chemicals with endocrine-disrupting properties. In the present review, we examine the epidemiologic evidence regarding the association between air pollution measures and breast cancer risk.

Recent Findings

We identified 17 studies evaluating the risk of breast cancer associated with air pollution. A higher risk of breast cancer has been associated with nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and nitrogen oxide (NOx) levels, both of which are proxies for traffic exposure. However, there is little evidence supporting a relationship for measures of traffic count or distance to nearest road, or for measures of particulate matter (PM), except potentially for nickel and vanadium, which are components of PM10. Hazardous air toxic levels and sources of indoor air pollution may also contribute to breast cancer risk. There is little existing evidence to support that the relationship between air pollution and breast cancer risk varies by either menopausal status at diagnosis or combined tumor hormone receptor subtype defined by the estrogen receptor (ER) and progesterone receptor (PR).

Summary

Epidemiologic evidence to date suggests an association between breast cancer risk and NO2 and NOx, markers for traffic-related air pollution, although there was little evidence supporting associations for proxy measures of traffic exposure or for PM. More research is needed to understand the role of specific PM components and whether associations vary by tumor receptor subtype and menopausal status at diagnosis.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the Intramural Research Program of the NIH.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Epidemiology Branch, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, NIH, Research Triangle Park, NC, 27709-2233, USA

    Alexandra J. White

  2. Division of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA

    Patrick T. Bradshaw

  3. Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Ghassan B. Hamra

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  1. Alexandra J. White
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Correspondence to Alexandra J. White.

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White, A.J., Bradshaw, P.T. & Hamra, G.B. Air Pollution and Breast Cancer: a Review. Curr Epidemiol Rep 5, 92–100 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40471-018-0143-2

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