Long-term air pollution exposure at both residential and workplace locations increases breast cancer risk

Greater risk for breast cancer is associated with long-term air pollution exposure at both residential and workplace location, results from the prospective French E3N cohort suggest.

Air pollution, classified as carcinogenic to humans, is a major public health concern [1]. Apart from increasing the risk of lung cancer, chronic exposure to air pollution is also suggested to increase the risk of breast cancer [2,3]. The prospective French E3N cohort (ca 100,000 women) was initiated in 1990 to investigate the risk factors associated with cancer, including breast cancer, and other major non-communicable diseases in women [4].

Prof. Béatrice Fervers (Centre Léon Bérard, France) presented results from a case-control study, based on E3N data, of the association between breast cancer risk and long-term exposure to particulate matters (PM_2.5, PM₁₀) and nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), levels of which were estimated at the women’s residential and workplace addresses [5].

Participants, aged 40–65 years at inclusion, were followed over the period 1990–2011. Exposure to air pollution was compared in 2419 women with histologically confirmed invasive breast cancer and 2984 individually matched controls. Annual mean PM_2.5, PM₁₀ and NO₂ concentration levels were estimated using a Land Use Regression (LUR) model (resolution 50m x 50m) and were assigned to women based on their geocoded residential and workplace addresses. The mean exposure was calculated for each woman from their inclusion into the E3N cohort to their index date (date of diagnosis of cases).

The results showed a statistically significant linear increase in breast cancer risk related to mean exposure to PM_2.5 (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 1.28; 95% CI 1.00–1.63) for an increment of 10 μg/m³. A numerically, but not statistically significant, increased breast cancer risk was observed for PM₁₀ (adjusted OR 1.09; 95% CI 0.92–1.30) and NO₂ (adjusted OR 1.05; 95% CI 0.97–1.13) for an increment of 10 μg/m³. No effect of HR status or menopausal status was observed.

“This study is the first to report breast cancer risk to be associated with long-term air pollution exposure at both residential and workplace location histories over 22 years,” concluded Prof. Fervers. “Future studies should consider exposure during commuting, the relatively short part of the day that is associated with high exposure to air pollution.”

1. 
   
   1. Cancer Risk Factors Collaborators. Lancet 2022;400(10352):563–591.
   2. Hvidtfeldt UA, et al. Environ Res. 2021;193:110568.
   3. White AJ, et al. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2023; Sep 11. DOI: 10.1093/jnci/djad170.
   4. Clavel-Chapelon F, et al. Int J Epidemiol. 2015;44(3):801–809.
   5. Fervers B, et al. Long-term residential and workplace exposure to air pollution and breast cancer risk: A case-control study nested in the French E3N cohort from 1990 to 2011. Abstract 238MO, ESMO 2023, 20–24 October, Madrid, Spain.

 

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Posted on 18 December 202318 December 2023