Breast cancer and serum organochlorine residues

• Published in: Occupational and environmental medicine (London, England) England), 2003-05, Vol.60 (5), p.348-351
• Main Authors: Charlier, C, Albert, A, Herman, P, Hamoir, E, Gaspard, U, Meurisse, M, Plomteux, G
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Biological and medical sciences; Blood; Body weight; Breast cancer; Breast Neoplasms - blood; Breast Neoplasms - chemically induced; Breastfeeding; Cancer; Chemical hazards; Congeners; DDE; DDT; DDT - adverse effects; DES; dichlorochlorophenylethylene; dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane; diethylstilboestrol; environmental exposition; Environmental Exposure; Estrogens; Female; gas chromatography; Gynecology. Andrology. Obstetrics; HCB; Hexachlorobenzene; Hexachlorobenzene - adverse effects; Hexachlorobenzene - blood; Human health sciences; Humans; Insecticides - adverse effects; Insecticides - blood; Mammary gland diseases; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Neoplasia; Nitrous oxide; odds ratio; Organic compounds; Organochlorine compounds; organochlorine residues; Original; Pesticide residues; Pesticides; Public health, health care sciences & services; Receptors; Retrospective Studies; Risk Factors; Santé publique, services médicaux & soins de santé; Sciences de la santé humaine; standard deviation; Tumors
• ISSN: 1351-0711; 1470-7926; 1470-7926
• DOI: 10.1136/oem.60.5.348

Background: Controversy still exists about the breast carcinogenic properties in humans of environmental xenoestrogens (organochlorines), justifying new investigations. Aims: To compare the blood levels of total dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and hexachlorobenzene (HCB) in samples collected at the time of breast cancer discovery, in order to avoid the potential consequences of body weight change (after chemotherapy or radiotherapy) on the pesticide residue levels. Methods: Blood levels of HCB and total DDT (we calculated total DDT concentrations by adding all DDT and DDE isomers) were compared in 159 women with breast cancer and 250 presumably healthy controls. Risk of breast cancer associated with organochlorine concentration was evaluated. Results: Mean levels of total DDT and HCB were significantly higher for breast cancer patients than for controls. No differences in serum levels of total DDT or HCB were found between oestrogen receptor positive and oestrogen receptor negative patients with breast cancer. Conclusions: These results add to the growing evidence that certain persistent pollutants may occur in higher concentrations in blood samples from breast cancer patients than controls.