Pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyl residues in human breast lipids and their relation to breast cancer

The etiology of human breast cancer is unknown; accepted risk factors, e.g., menstrual, reproductive, and family histories, are implicated in less than half of all cases. Various halogenated hydrocarbons--acting as either co-carcinogens or promoting agents--which are derived from the environment and are concentrated in human fatty stores, may also play a role in breast cancer risk. A pilot study was undertaken to measure and compare levels of chemical residues in mammary adipose tissue from women with malignant and nonmalignant breast disease. Elevated levels of polychlorinated biphenyls, bis(4-chlorophenyl)-1,1 dichloroethene, and bis(4-chlorophenyl)-1,1,1 trichloroethane were found in fat samples from women with cancer, compared with those who had benign breast disease. These results, although preliminary, suggest a role for environmentally derived suspect carcinogens in the genesis of mammary carcinoma.
WIDESPREAD ENVIRONMENTAL CONTAMINATION has occurred with several pesticide residues of the halogenated hydrocarbon family, including dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT), dichlorodiphenyldichloro-ethylene (DDE), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polybrominated biphenyls (PBBs), benzene hexachloride (BHC), hexachlorobenzene (HCB), [...]