Self-reported exposure to pesticides in residential settings and risk of breast cancer: a case-control study

Abstract

BackgroundPesticides are widely used in households to control insects and weeds. Several studies, over the past decades, have examined the possible relationship of serum concentration of organochlorine pesticides and the development of breast cancer. However, little data exists regarding an association between self-reported, residential exposure to pesticides and breast cancer risk. We, therefore, present a case-control study examining self-reported exposure to household pesticides with regard to associated risk of breast cancer.MethodsThis study was conducted in the area in and around New York City, NY and included 1205 patients (447 cases and 758 controls). Cases were defined as women with newly diagnosed breast cancer or carcinoma in-situ, while controls included women with benign breast diseases or those undergoing non-breast related surgery. All patients were asked a series of questions to determine their pesticide exposure, including the type of pesticide, location of exposure (inside vs. outside the home), who applied the pesticide (self vs. a professional) and duration of pesticide use. Logistic regression models were used to estimate unadjusted and adjusted odds ratios (OR) and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CI).ResultsThe most common pests encountered in participants' homes were ants, carpenter ants, and cockroaches. The calculated adjusted odds ratios for both self and professionally applied pesticides, specifically against the above mentioned insects, with regard to breast cancer risk were 1.25 (95% CI: 0.79-1.98) and 1.06 (95% CI: 0.65-1.73), respectively. Similarly, odds ratios and confidence intervals were calculated for other types of pesticides.ConclusionsOverall, the results of our study did not show an association between self-reported exposure to pesticides and breast cancer risk. Future studies, utilizing a larger sample size and more specific detail on time frame of pesticide exposure, are needed to further explore this question.

Correlation between toxic organochlorine pesticides and breast cancer

“…In contrast, other studies did not report an evidence to support a causal association between breast cancer and OCs. 26 , 27 Comparison between the present work and other studies is difficult and discrepancies may be explained by differences in biological samples used to assess exposure, target populations, study designs, and varied historical exposure levels.…”

Childhood and Adolescent Pesticide Exposure and Breast Cancer Risk

“…22–24 Another recent case-control study using a self-reported measure of acute exposure to fogger trucks prior to ages 14 and 20 did not find an increased risk of breast cancer. 9 Similarly, a population-based case-control study in North Carolina with self-reported measures of pesticide exposures reported no overall association between farming during ages 9–16 years old and breast cancer 20 and growing up on a farm was not related to breast cancer risk in the study.…”

Increased cancer burden among pesticide applicators and others due to pesticide exposure

“…We identified just 8 published studies that reported on nonoccupational and non-OC insecticide exposure and breast cancer. [178][179][180][181][182][183][184][185] Of these 8 reports, 4 were case-control studies [181][182][183][184] that lacked pesticide-specific exposure information and the fourth was an ecologic study in design. 185 The 3 remaining studies [178][179][180] assessed exposure to a number of specific pesticides, but overall, these studies are too few to provide a meaningfully review.…”