A report which was mandated by Congress and completed by the Interagency Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Coordinating Committee (IBCERCC) headed by Jeanne Rizzo from the Breast Cancer Fund concludes that more investment into the environmental health causes for breast cancer is warranted. Breast cancer is the leading cancer cause in women and has been associated with exposures to various chemicals used in consumer products including bisphenol A (BPA). Around 216 of the over 84 000 substances used in consumer products in the U.S. have been found to affect mammary gland tissue. Some of these substances are produced at high volumes. The report recommends that prevention of breast cancer should be prioritized. Currently only 10% of the US$2.4 billion spent by the National Institutes of Health on breast cancer research focuses on environmental health research that is related to primary cancer prevention. Further , breast cancer research should be conducted in a transdisciplinary manner focusing on themes such as epigenetic changes, mechanisms underlying breast cancer, gene-environment interactions, and multiple risk factors.
The report will now be reviewed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Read more
Report by the Interagency Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Coordinating Committee
