Persistent Organic Pollutants and Breast Cancer: A Systematic Review and Critical Appraisal of the Literature

doi:10.3390/cancers11081063

Review

. 2019 Jul 27;11(8):1063.

doi: 10.3390/cancers11081063.

Persistent Organic Pollutants and Breast Cancer: A Systematic Review and Critical Appraisal of the Literature

Kaoutar Ennour-Idrissi^{1

2

3

4}, Pierre Ayotte^{3

5

6}, Caroline Diorio^{7

8

9

10}

Affiliations

¹ Axe Oncologie, Centre de Recherche du CHU de Québec-Université Laval, Quebec City, QC G1E 6W2, Canada.
² Centre de Recherche sur le Cancer, Université Laval, Quebec City, QC G1R 3S3, Canada.
³ Département de Médecine Sociale et Préventive, Faculté de Médecine, Université Laval, Quebec City, QC G1V 0A6, Canada.
⁴ Centre des Maladies du Sein Deschênes-Fabia, Hôpital du Saint-Sacrement, Quebec City, QC G1S 4L8, Canada.
⁵ Axe santé des Populations et Pratiques Optimales en Santé, Centre de Recherche du CHU de Québec, Université Laval, Quebec City, QC G1E 6W2, Canada.
⁶ Centre de Toxicologie du Québec (CTQ), INSPQ, Quebec City, QC G1V 5B3, Canada.
⁷ Axe Oncologie, Centre de Recherche du CHU de Québec-Université Laval, Quebec City, QC G1E 6W2, Canada. Caroline.Diorio@crchudequebec.ulaval.ca.
⁸ Centre de Recherche sur le Cancer, Université Laval, Quebec City, QC G1R 3S3, Canada. Caroline.Diorio@crchudequebec.ulaval.ca.
⁹ Département de Médecine Sociale et Préventive, Faculté de Médecine, Université Laval, Quebec City, QC G1V 0A6, Canada. Caroline.Diorio@crchudequebec.ulaval.ca.
¹⁰ Centre des Maladies du Sein Deschênes-Fabia, Hôpital du Saint-Sacrement, Quebec City, QC G1S 4L8, Canada. Caroline.Diorio@crchudequebec.ulaval.ca.

PMID: 31357644
PMCID: PMC6721417
DOI: 10.3390/cancers11081063

Review

Persistent Organic Pollutants and Breast Cancer: A Systematic Review and Critical Appraisal of the Literature

Kaoutar Ennour-Idrissi et al. Cancers (Basel). 2019.

. 2019 Jul 27;11(8):1063.

doi: 10.3390/cancers11081063.

Authors

Kaoutar Ennour-Idrissi^{1

2

3

4}, Pierre Ayotte^{3

5

6}, Caroline Diorio^{7

8

9

10}

Affiliations

¹ Axe Oncologie, Centre de Recherche du CHU de Québec-Université Laval, Quebec City, QC G1E 6W2, Canada.
² Centre de Recherche sur le Cancer, Université Laval, Quebec City, QC G1R 3S3, Canada.
³ Département de Médecine Sociale et Préventive, Faculté de Médecine, Université Laval, Quebec City, QC G1V 0A6, Canada.
⁴ Centre des Maladies du Sein Deschênes-Fabia, Hôpital du Saint-Sacrement, Quebec City, QC G1S 4L8, Canada.
⁵ Axe santé des Populations et Pratiques Optimales en Santé, Centre de Recherche du CHU de Québec, Université Laval, Quebec City, QC G1E 6W2, Canada.
⁶ Centre de Toxicologie du Québec (CTQ), INSPQ, Quebec City, QC G1V 5B3, Canada.
⁷ Axe Oncologie, Centre de Recherche du CHU de Québec-Université Laval, Quebec City, QC G1E 6W2, Canada. Caroline.Diorio@crchudequebec.ulaval.ca.
⁸ Centre de Recherche sur le Cancer, Université Laval, Quebec City, QC G1R 3S3, Canada. Caroline.Diorio@crchudequebec.ulaval.ca.
⁹ Département de Médecine Sociale et Préventive, Faculté de Médecine, Université Laval, Quebec City, QC G1V 0A6, Canada. Caroline.Diorio@crchudequebec.ulaval.ca.
¹⁰ Centre des Maladies du Sein Deschênes-Fabia, Hôpital du Saint-Sacrement, Quebec City, QC G1S 4L8, Canada. Caroline.Diorio@crchudequebec.ulaval.ca.

PMID: 31357644
PMCID: PMC6721417
DOI: 10.3390/cancers11081063

Abstract

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) bioaccumulate in the food chain and have been detected in human blood and adipose tissue. Experimental studies demonstrated that POPs can cause and promote growth of breast cancer. However, inconsistent results from epidemiological studies do not support a causal relationship between POPs and breast cancer in women. To identify individual POPs that are repeatedly found to be associated with both breast cancer incidence and progression, and to demystify the observed inconsistencies between epidemiological studies, we conducted a systematic review of 95 studies retrieved from three main electronic databases. While no clear pattern of associations between blood POPs and breast cancer incidence could be drawn, POPs measured in breast adipose tissue were more clearly associated with higher breast cancer incidence. POPs were more consistently associated with worse breast cancer prognosis whether measured in blood or breast adipose tissue. In contrast, POPs measured in adipose tissue other than breast were inversely associated with both breast cancer incidence and prognosis. Differences in biological tissues used for POPs measurement and methodological biases explain the discrepancies between studies results. Some individual compounds associated with both breast cancer incidence and progression, deserve further investigation.

Keywords: breast cancer; breast cancer prognostic; breast cancer risk; persistent organic pollutants; systematic review.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results.

Figures

**Figure 1**
Flow Diagram according to PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items of Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) [PRISMA], with modifications. *One cohort study on breast cancer mortality also reported cross-sectional analyses of prognostic factors.

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References

1. Connell D.W., Miller G.J., Mortimer M.R., Shaw G.R., Anderson S.M. Persistent Lipophilic Contaminants and Other Chemical Residues in the Southern Hemisphere. Crit. Rev. Environ. Sci. Technol. 1999;29:47–82. doi: 10.1080/10643389991259173. - DOI
1. Kelly B.C., Ikonomou M.G., Blair J.D., Morin A.E., Gobas F.A.P.C. Food Web-Specific Biomagnification of Persistent Organic Pollutants. Science. 2007;317:236–239. doi: 10.1126/science.1138275. - DOI - PubMed
1. Davis D.L., Bradlow H.L., Wolff M., Woodruff T., Hoel D.G., Anton-Culver H. Medical hypothesis: Xenoestrogens as preventable causes of breast cancer. Environ. Health Perspect. 1993;101:372–377. doi: 10.1289/ehp.93101372. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
1. Hunter D.J., Kelsey K.T. Pesticide Residues and Breast Cancer: The Harvest of a Silent Spring? J. Natl. Cancer Inst. 1993;85:598–599. doi: 10.1093/jnci/85.8.598. - DOI - PubMed
1. Ahlborg U.G., Lipworth L., Titus-Ernstoff L., Hsieh C.-C., Hanberg A., Baron J., Trichopoulos D., Adami H.-O. Organochlorine Compounds in Relation to Breast Cancer, Endometrial Cancer, and Endometriosis: An Assessment of the Biological and Epidemiological Evidence. Crit. Rev. Toxicol. 1995;25:463–531. doi: 10.3109/10408449509017924. - DOI - PubMed

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[1] Connell D.W., Miller G.J., Mortimer M.R., Shaw G.R., Anderson S.M. Persistent Lipophilic Contaminants and Other Chemical Residues in the Southern Hemisphere. Crit. Rev. Environ. Sci. Technol. 1999;29:47–82. doi: 10.1080/10643389991259173. - DOI

[2] Connell D.W., Miller G.J., Mortimer M.R., Shaw G.R., Anderson S.M. Persistent Lipophilic Contaminants and Other Chemical Residues in the Southern Hemisphere. Crit. Rev. Environ. Sci. Technol. 1999;29:47–82. doi: 10.1080/10643389991259173. - DOI

[3] Kelly B.C., Ikonomou M.G., Blair J.D., Morin A.E., Gobas F.A.P.C. Food Web-Specific Biomagnification of Persistent Organic Pollutants. Science. 2007;317:236–239. doi: 10.1126/science.1138275. - DOI - PubMed

[4] Kelly B.C., Ikonomou M.G., Blair J.D., Morin A.E., Gobas F.A.P.C. Food Web-Specific Biomagnification of Persistent Organic Pollutants. Science. 2007;317:236–239. doi: 10.1126/science.1138275. - DOI - PubMed

[5] Davis D.L., Bradlow H.L., Wolff M., Woodruff T., Hoel D.G., Anton-Culver H. Medical hypothesis: Xenoestrogens as preventable causes of breast cancer. Environ. Health Perspect. 1993;101:372–377. doi: 10.1289/ehp.93101372. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

[6] Davis D.L., Bradlow H.L., Wolff M., Woodruff T., Hoel D.G., Anton-Culver H. Medical hypothesis: Xenoestrogens as preventable causes of breast cancer. Environ. Health Perspect. 1993;101:372–377. doi: 10.1289/ehp.93101372. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

[7] Hunter D.J., Kelsey K.T. Pesticide Residues and Breast Cancer: The Harvest of a Silent Spring? J. Natl. Cancer Inst. 1993;85:598–599. doi: 10.1093/jnci/85.8.598. - DOI - PubMed

[8] Hunter D.J., Kelsey K.T. Pesticide Residues and Breast Cancer: The Harvest of a Silent Spring? J. Natl. Cancer Inst. 1993;85:598–599. doi: 10.1093/jnci/85.8.598. - DOI - PubMed

[9] Ahlborg U.G., Lipworth L., Titus-Ernstoff L., Hsieh C.-C., Hanberg A., Baron J., Trichopoulos D., Adami H.-O. Organochlorine Compounds in Relation to Breast Cancer, Endometrial Cancer, and Endometriosis: An Assessment of the Biological and Epidemiological Evidence. Crit. Rev. Toxicol. 1995;25:463–531. doi: 10.3109/10408449509017924. - DOI - PubMed

[10] Ahlborg U.G., Lipworth L., Titus-Ernstoff L., Hsieh C.-C., Hanberg A., Baron J., Trichopoulos D., Adami H.-O. Organochlorine Compounds in Relation to Breast Cancer, Endometrial Cancer, and Endometriosis: An Assessment of the Biological and Epidemiological Evidence. Crit. Rev. Toxicol. 1995;25:463–531. doi: 10.3109/10408449509017924. - DOI - PubMed

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Persistent Organic Pollutants and Breast Cancer: A Systematic Review and Critical Appraisal of the Literature

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Persistent Organic Pollutants and Breast Cancer: A Systematic Review and Critical Appraisal of the Literature

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Abstract

Conflict of interest statement

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