2024
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Groundbreaking Study on Chemical Mixtures & Breast Cancer Risk
By Bridget Efua Martin, MD, MPH candidate
This is an excerpt of a longer post on the Zero Breast Cancer site describing an upcoming UCSF study on chemical mixtures.
Chemicals linked to breast cancer risk come from many sources: our personal care products, cleaning supplies, food packaging, pesticides, the air we breathe, the water we drink, and more. These chemicals, including endocrine disrupting chemicals and mammary gland carcinogens, can alter vital pathways in our bodies. While most research has focused on single chemicals, in reality, we are not exposed to chemicals one at a time. We are exposed to many chemicals at the same time throughout our daily lives.
Chemical mixtures are combinations of two or more chemicals that can interact with each other and their surroundings, leading to unique effects on human health and the environment. It is not known whether exposures to chemical mixtures have a larger effect on breast cancer risk than exposure to single chemicals. Research is needed to determine whether breast cancer risk is higher depending on the type and amount of chemical mixtures an individual is exposed to, and which chemical mixtures are most impactful.
A groundbreaking new study seeks to uncover the links between exposure to chemical mixtures and the risk of breast cancer. The study will also compare exposures between women who live in neighborhoods with high vs. low levels of socioeconomic disadvantage. Read more.
