Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2024 Jan 10;116(1):53-60.
doi: 10.1093/jnci/djad170.

Ambient fine particulate matter and breast cancer incidence in a large prospective US cohort

Alexandra J White  1 , Jared A Fisher  2 , Marina R Sweeney  3 , Neal D Freedman  2 , Joel D Kaufman  4 , Debra T Silverman  2 , Rena R Jones  2
Affiliations

Ambient fine particulate matter and breast cancer incidence in a large prospective US cohort

Alexandra J White et al. J Natl Cancer Inst. .

Abstract

Background: Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) has been inconsistently associated with breast cancer incidence, however, few studies have considered historic exposure when levels were higher.

Methods: Outdoor residential PM2.5 concentrations were estimated using a nationwide spatiotemporal model for women in the National Institutes of Health-AARP Diet and Health Study, a prospective cohort located in 6 states (California, Florida, Louisiana, New Jersey, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania) and 2 metropolitan areas (Atlanta, GA, and Detroit, MI) and enrolled in 1995-1996 (n = 196 905). Annual average PM2.5 concentrations were estimated for a 5-year historical period 10 years prior to enrollment (1980-1984). We used Cox regression to estimate adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the association between a 10 µg/m3 increase in PM2.5 and breast cancer incidence overall and by estrogen receptor status and catchment area.

Results: With follow-up of participants through 2017, a total of 15 870 breast cancer cases were identified. A 10 ug/m3 increase in PM2.5 was statistically significantly associated with overall breast cancer incidence (HR = 1.08, 95% CI = 1.02 to 1.13). The association was evident for estrogen receptor-positive (HR = 1.10, 95% CI = 1.04 to 1.17) but not estrogen receptor-negative tumors (HR = 0.97, 95% CI = 0.84 to 1.13; Pheterogeneity = .3). Overall breast cancer hazard ratios were more than 1 across the catchment areas, ranging from a hazard ratio of 1.26 (95% CI = 0.96 to 1.64) for North Carolina to a hazard ratio of 1.04 (95% CI = 0.68 to 1.57) for Louisiana (Pheterogeneity = .9).

Conclusions: In this large US cohort with historical air pollutant exposure estimates, PM2.5 was associated with risk of estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer. State-specific estimates were imprecise but suggest that future work should consider region-specific associations and the potential contribution of PM2.5 chemical constituency in modifying the observed association.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors report no conflict of interests.

References

    1. Sung H, Ferlay J, Siegel RL, et al.Global cancer statistics 2020: GLOBOCAN estimates of incidence and mortality worldwide for 36 cancers in 185 countries. CA Cancer J Clin. 2021;71(3):209-249. - PubMed
    1. Colditz GA, Rosner BA, Chen WY, et al.Risk factors for breast cancer according to estrogen and progesterone receptor status. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2004;96(3):218-228. - PubMed
    1. Howlader N, Cronin KA, Kurian AW, et al.Differences in breast cancer survival by molecular subtypes in the United States. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2018;27(6):619-626. - PubMed
    1. Waks AG, Winer EP.. Breast cancer treatment: a review. JAMA. 2019;321(3):288-300. - PubMed
    1. Kluttig A, Schmidt-Pokrzywniak A.. Established and suspected risk factors in breast cancer aetiology. Breast Care (Basel). 2009;4(2):82-87. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types