BREAST CANCER AND THE ENVIRONMENT A LIFE COURSE APPROACH Committee on Breast Cancer and the Environment: The Scientific Evidence, Research Methodology, and Future Directions Board on Health Care Services Board on Health Sciences Policy THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS 500 Fifth Street, NW Washington, DC 20001 NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance. This study was supported by a contract between the National Academy of Sciences and Susan G. Komen for the Cure®. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the organizations or agencies that provided support for this project. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Institute of Medicine (U.S.). Committee on Breast Cancer and the Environment: The Scientific Evidence, Research Methodology, and Future Directions. Breast cancer and the environment : a life course approach / Committee on Breast Cancer and the Environment: The Scientific Evidence, Research Methodology, and Future Directions, Board on Health Care Services, Board on Health Sciences Policy. p. ; cm. Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 978-0-309-22069-9 (pbk.) — ISBN 978-0-309-22070-5 (PDF) I. Title. [DNLM: 1. Breast Neoplasms—etiology. 2. Environmental Exposure—adverse effects. 3. Breast Neoplasms—prevention & control. 4. Risk Factors. WP 870] 362.19699’449—dc23 2012007110 Additional copies of this report are available from the National Academies Press, 500 Fifth Street, NW, Keck 360, Washington, DC 20001; (800) 624-6242 or (202) 334-3313; http:// www.nap.edu. For more information about the Institute of Medicine, visit the IOM home page at: www. iom.edu. Copyright 2012 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America Cover credit: Illustration by Diana Ong/Getty Images. The serpent has been a symbol of long life, healing, and knowledge among almost all cultures and religions since the beginning of recorded history. The serpent adopted as a logotype by the Institute of Medicine is a relief carving from ancient Greece, now held by the Staatliche Museen in Berlin. Suggested citation: IOM (Institute of Medicine). 2012. Breast cancer and the environment: A life course approach. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. “Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do.” —Goethe Advising the Nation. Improving Health. The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Acad- emy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone is president of the National Academy of Sciences. The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. 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The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sci- ences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy’s purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone and Dr. Charles M. Vest are chair and vice chair, respectively, of the National Research Council. www.national-academies.org COMMITTEE ON BREAST CANCER AND THE ENVIRONMENT: THE SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE, RESEARCH METHODOLOGY, AND FUTURE DIRECTIONS IRVA HERTZ-PICCIOTTO (Chair), Professor and Chief, Division of Environmental and Occupational Health, University of California, Davis LUCILE ADAMS-CAMPBELL, Professor of Oncology, Associate Director, Minority Health and Health Disparities Research, Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Georgetown University Medical Center PEGGY DEVINE, Founder and President, Cancer Information and Support Network DAVID EATON, Associate Vice Provost for Research, and Professor and Director, Center for Ecogenetics and Environmental Health, University of Washington S. KATHARINE HAMMOND, Professor, Division of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley KATHY J. HELZLSOUER, Director, The Prevention and Research Center, Mercy Medical Center ROBERT A. HIATT, Professor and Chair, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, and Director, Population Sciences, Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of California, San Francisco CHANITA HUGHES HALBERT, Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, and Director, Center for Community-Based Research and Health Disparities DAVID J. HUNTER, Dean for Academic Affairs and Vincent L. Gregory Professor in Cancer Prevention, Harvard School of Public Health BARNETT KRAMER, Editor-in-Chief, Journal of the National Cancer Institute, and Editor-in-Chief, National Cancer Institute Physician Data Query (PDQ) Screening and Prevention Editorial Board BRYAN M. LANGHOLZ, Professor, Division of Biostatistics, Department of Preventive Medicine, University of Southern California (resigned July 2011) PEGGY REYNOLDS, Senior Research Scientist, Cancer Prevention Institute of California JOYCE S. TSUJI, Principal Scientist, Center for Toxicology and Mechanistic Biology, Exponent CHERYL LYN WALKER, Welch Professor and Director, Institute of Biosciences and Technology, Texas A&M Health Science Center v LAUREN ZEISE, Chief, Reproductive and Cancer Hazard Assessment Branch, Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, California Environmental Protection Agency Study Staff LOIS JOELLENBECK, Study Director JANE DURCH, Senior Program Officer SHARYL NASS, Senior Program Officer NIHARIKA SATHE, Research Assistant (from November 2010) CASSANDRA CACACE, Research Assistant (until December 2010) ASHLEY MCWILLIAMS, Senior Program Assistant (until December 2010) PATRICK BURKE, Financial Associate ROGER HERDMAN, Director, Board on Health Care Services ANDREW POPE, Director, Board on Health Sciences Policy Commissioned Paper Authors REBECCA SMITH-BINDMAN, University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine LINDA DIX-COOPER, University of California, Berkeley vi Reviewers his report has been reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise, in accordance with Tprocedures approved by the National Research Council’s Report Review Committee. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the institution in making its published report as sound as possible and to ensure that the report meets institutional standards for objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confiden- tial to protect the integrity of the deliberative process. We wish to thank the following individuals for their review of this report: Mary Helen Barcellos-Hoff, NYU Langone Medical Center Julia G. Brody, Silent Spring Institute Diana Chingos, USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center Kathryn Guyton, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Leena Hilakivi-Clarke, Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center William A. Knaus, The University of Virginia Health Sciences Center Ruth M. Parker, Emory University School of Medicine Lorenz Rhomberg, Gradient Stephen H. Safe, Texas A&M University Michael Thun, American Cancer Society vii viii REVIEWERS David M. Umbach, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health Sandy Walsh, California Breast Cancer Organizations Noel S. Weiss, University of Washington Although the reviewers listed above have provided many constructive comments