HOMEPRODUCTSCOMPANYCONTACTFAQResearchDictionaryPharmaSign Up FREE or Login

DDT and breast cancer in young women: new data on the significance of age at exposure.

AbstractBACKGROUND:
Previous studies of DDT and breast cancer assessed exposure later in life when the breast may not have been vulnerable, after most DDT had been eliminated, and after DDT had been banned.
OBJECTIVES:
We investigated whether DDT exposure in young women during the period of peak DDT use predicts breast cancer.
METHODS:
We conducted a prospective, nested case-control study with a median time to diagnosis of 17 years using blood samples obtained from young women during 1959-1967. Subjects were members of the Child Health and Development Studies, Oakland, California, who provided blood samples 1-3 days after giving birth (mean age, 26 years). Cases (n = 129) developed breast cancer before the age of 50 years. Controls (n = 129) were matched to cases on birth year. Serum was assayed for p,p'-DDT, the active ingredient of DDT; o,p'-DDT, a low concentration contaminant; and p,p'-DDE, the most abundant p,p'-DDT metabolite.
RESULTS:
High levels of serum p,p'-DDT predicted a statistically significant 5-fold increased risk of breast cancer among women who were born after 1931. These women were under 14 years of age in 1945, when DDT came into widespread use, and mostly under 20 years as DDT use peaked. Women who were not exposed to p,p'-DDT before 14 years of age showed no association between p,p'-DDT and breast cancer (p = 0.02 for difference by age).
CONCLUSIONS:
Exposure to p,p'-DDT early in life may increase breast cancer risk. Many U.S. women heavily exposed to DDT in childhood have not yet reached 50 years of age. The public health significance of DDT exposure in early life may be large.
AuthorsBarbara A Cohn, Mary S Wolff, Piera M Cirillo, Robert I Sholtz
JournalEnvironmental health perspectives (Environ Health Perspect) Vol. 115 Issue 10 Pg. 1406-14 (Oct 2007) ISSN: 0091-6765 [Print] United States
PMID17938728 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Meta-Analysis, Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural)
Chemical References
  • Carcinogens, Environmental
  • Dichlorodiphenyl Dichloroethylene
  • DDT
Topics
  • Adult
  • Age Factors
  • Breast Neoplasms (epidemiology)
  • California (epidemiology)
  • Carcinogens, Environmental (adverse effects, analysis)
  • Case-Control Studies
  • DDT (adverse effects, blood)
  • Dichlorodiphenyl Dichloroethylene (blood)
  • Environmental Exposure (adverse effects)
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Middle Aged
  • Prospective Studies
  • United States (epidemiology)

Join CureHunter, for free Research Interface BASIC access!

Take advantage of free CureHunter research engine access to explore the best drug and treatment options for any disease. Find out why thousands of doctors, pharma researchers and patient activists around the world use CureHunter every day.
Realize the full power of the drug-disease research graph!


Choose Username:
Email:
Password:
Verify Password:
Enter Code Shown: