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A substantial body of evidence links environmental exposures to increases in breast cancer incidence over the past decades. State and federal legislative initiatives that could help prevent breast cancer include: federal standards to achieve consistency in radiation-emitting medical and dental equipment; improved state quality assurance standards f...
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... And, while human studies are limited in number, evidence also points to an association between breast cancer and two other chemical families of air pollutants: dioxins and organic solvents. 53,54 Most of the air pollutants can be found in primary and secondhand tobacco smoke, diesel exhaust and/or in specific occupational settings (see Table 1). Accord- ing to the California Air Resources Board, there are 20 mammary carcinogens in tobacco smoke alone. ...
Citations
... Methotrexate (MTX) is an important anticancer, chemotherapeutic drug and immunosuppressive in organ transplantation, used in the therapy of solid tumours, leukaemia, bone cancer, severe asthma and rheumatoid arthritis [120]. Unfortunately, it is also a cytotoxic compound that acts in neoplastic cells and tissues causing serious side effects like cardiotoxicity, vomiting, diarrhoea, and hepatotoxicity, among a few [121]. ...
The new class of nanomaterials termed carbon dots: a quasi-spherical nanoparticle having a size less than 10 nm, possesses some unique characteristics like good aqueous solubility, colloidal stability, resistance to photobleaching, and fluorescence tunability, resulting in the unfolding of their various properties and their usage in different applications. Materials that are naturally derived or produced by living organisms are termed 'biogenic'. Over the past few years, there has been a gradual increase in the use of naturally derived materials in synthesizing carbon dots. Green precursors or biogenic materials are of low cost, readily available, renewable, and environmentally benign. Most importantly, they provide essential benefits not found in synthesized carbon dots. This review focuses on the use of biogenic materials for the synthesis of biogenic carbon dots developed in the past five years. It also briefly explains different synthetic protocols used, along with some significant findings. Thereafter, an overview of the use of biogenic carbon dots (BCDs) in different applications like chemo and biosensors, drug delivery, bioimaging, catalysis and energy applications, etc., is discussed. Thus biogenic carbon dots are future sustainable materials that are now fast replacing conventional carbon quantum prepared from other sources.
... Work from the field of environmental epidemiology has since revealed that exposures to numerous environmental agents are associated with increased risk of breast cancer, especially when such exposures occur during sensitive windows of development [5][6][7]. ...
... Additional studies suggest that many women stop breastfeeding before the pediatrician recommended period of 1 year due to concerns over inadequate milk production [25][26][27]. Finally, perhaps the greatest reason to be concerned about mammary gland health is the rising prevalence of breast cancer in young women that has been observed in populations around the world over the past five decades [6,28,29] during a time when total cancer diagnoses have generally declined. These trends may not be limited to women; data from the Scottish National Health Service collected between 1992 and 2017 indicate that the incidence of male breast cancer is increasing, having nearly doubled in that time period, although men still account for less than 1% of all cases [30]. ...
Work from numerous fields of study suggests that exposures to hormonally active chemicals during sensitive windows of development can alter mammary gland development, function, and disease risk. Stronger links between many environmental pollutants and disruptions to breast health continue to be documented in human populations, and there remain concerns that the methods utilized to identify, characterize, and prioritize these chemicals for risk assessment and risk management purposes are insufficient. There are also concerns that effects on the mammary gland have been largely ignored by regulatory agencies. Here, we provide technical guidance that is intended to enhance collection and evaluation of the mammary gland in mice and rats. We review several features of studies that should be controlled to properly evaluate the mammary gland, and then describe methods to appropriately collect the mammary gland from rodents. Furthermore, we discuss methods for preparing whole mounted mammary glands and numerous approaches that are available for the analysis of these samples. Finally, we conclude with several examples where analysis of the mammary gland revealed effects of environmental toxicants at low doses. Our work argues that the rodent mammary gland should be considered in chemical safety, hazard and risk assessments. It also suggests that improved measures of mammary gland outcomes, such as those we present in this review, should be included in the standardized methods evaluated by regulatory agencies such as the test guidelines used for identifying reproductive and developmental toxicants.
... Numerous studies demonstrate that timing of these exposures at specific windows of vulnerability along the life-course, as well as combinations of exposures, are also critical in the development of breast cancer (Engel, Rasanayagam, Gray & Rizzo, 2018;Gray, Rasanayagam, Engel & Rizzo, 2017;Schettler, 2014;Wu et al., 2016). This phenomenon points to the importance of more in-depth examination of the contexts of these exogenous exposures, including air pollution Gomez et al., 2010;Nudelman et al., 2009;Engel, Rasanaygam, Gray & Rizzo, 2018;Pederson et al. 2020;Niehoff et al., 2020). ...
Worldwide, almost 630,000 women died from breast cancer last year. North American women face a lifetime risk for breast cancer of one in eight, with nearly 500 new breast cancer diagnoses each week in Canada. The overall global incidence of breast cancer continues to rise. Five to ten % of cases are related to genetics, family history, lifestyle and behaviour, all factoring into overall incidence. Fewer than 50% of breast cancers can be explained by the known or traditionally suspected risk factors. The complexity of the varied contexts, which produce disparate degrees of risk, should be incorporated into prevention strategies. Increased attention to environmental and occupational risk factors represents a significant site where primary prevention interventions could be effective. This qualitative study examines how women who work in an environment with an identified risk of breast cancer construct understandings and narratives of their risks and how women perceive and exercise agency in the acceptance, avoidance or negotiation of those risks. Personal narratives were gathered through in-depth individual interviews from 25 women who are current or former employees of the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. The research draws on Kleinman's ecological approach, where the subject location is key to the framework for understanding health information within its socio-cultural context. Kleinman's approach is further developed in this study by incorporating feminist standpoint theory and a socio-ecological framework. The theoretical approach constructed by incorporating these multiple perspectives frames women's subjective understandings as situated in their socio-cultural contexts and allows understanding subject location and, importantly, agency—or control over breast cancer risks—as seen through the subject in her location. The narratives reveal how women construct their understanding of breast cancer risks, particularly concerning environmental factors, based on personal knowledge, occupational experience, and through the lens of gender. The exploration uncovers and analyzes how women's subject location influences understandings, interpretations and use of knowledge about perceived risks for breast cancer in a risk-bearing environment and their related ideas about agency directed at risk mitigation. Policy, regulation, and risk mitigation strategies are enhanced by understanding how women make meaning in their knowledge of breast cancer risks and how they perceive the possibilities and barriers to agency to mitigate risks. The way women understand breast cancer risk is dynamic, contextualized, multisectoral, and relational and offers insights into understanding spaces. As seen from women’s standpoint, breast cancer risk is not solely a biomedical phenomenon residing in the body, determined by genetics or lifestyle choices, but is experienced by women in a nested set of social, cultural and political relationships. Increased understanding and collaborative partnerships between medical science and social science would improve breast cancer prevention strategies, particularly where risks are related to involuntary, environmental exposures. The findings contribute to efforts to address environmental health risks at the Ambassador Bridge and other workplaces and communities.
https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/etd/8567/
... Hundreds of chemicals in current use today are linked to increased risk of cancer, including chemicals in pesticides, plastics, foods, smoke, and gasoline (Gray, 2017;Brody, 2010). Although the causes of observed increases in breast cancer and certain other cancers are multi-factorial and not fully understood, it is likely that environmental carcinogens play a significant role (Nudelman, 2009). Despite this information, many chemicals that are linked to cancer, reproductive toxicity, neurotoxicity, and other serious health effects are still in widespread use in our environment and in consumer products. ...
... Several recent environmental investigations have defined environmental agents associated with BrCA incidence [10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18]; however, some of these agents have not been shown to be mutagenic or teratogenic, therefore it is unclear exactly how these agents drive the mechanisms of tumorigenesis. In addition, environmental agents that cause sporadic BrCA incidence may have reversible effects, as is evident in intervention studies that indicate removing the harmful environmental agent reduces cancer risk [19,20]. ...
Breast cancer (BrCA) is the most common cancer affecting women around the world. However, it does not arise from the same causative agent among all women. Genetic markers have been associated with heritable or familial breast cancers, which may or may not be confounded by environmental factors, whereas sporadic breast cancer cases are more likely attributable to environmental exposures. Approximately 85% of women diagnosed with BrCA have no family history of the disease. Given this overwhelming bias, more plausible etiologic mechanisms should be investigated to accurately assess a woman’s risk of acquiring breast cancer. It is known that breast cancer risk is highly influenced by exogenous environmental cues altering cancer genes either by genotoxic mechanisms (DNA mutations) or otherwise. Risk assessment should comprehensively incorporate exposures to exogenous factors that are linked to a woman’s individual susceptibility. However, the exact role that some environmental agents (EA) play in tumor formation and/or cancer gene regulation is unclear. In this pilot project, we begin a multi-disciplinary approach to investigate the intersection of environmental exposures, cancer gene response, and BrCA risk. Here, we present data that show environmental exposure to heavy metals and PCBs in drinking water, heavy metal presence in plasma of nine patients with sporadic BrCA, and Toxic Release Inventory and geological data for a metal of concern, uranium, in Northeast Georgia.
... Regarding radiation exposures, several measures or proposals oriented to avoid ionizing radiation exposures in occupational and medical settings are listed in the Appendix (National Committee on Environmental and Occupational Exposures 2006;Nudelman et al. 2009;President's Cancer Panel 2010). ...
... Recently, a relationship between computer tomography and childhood cancer risk has been observed (Pearce et al. 2012) that could be reduced by appropriate dose optimization for children. These issues deserve an even more sensitive approach when they affect secondary prevention interventions (e.g., mammography for early detection of asymptomatic breast cancer) (Nudelman et al. 2009;President's Cancer Panel 2010;WHO 2006a). Another example is advising the public about the benefits of different radon prevention and remedial actions to control radon in dwellings (such as checking levels of radon, installing a ventilation system in the basement) (WHO 2009b). ...
... However, a large number of environmental exposures are understudied and therefore remain classified as being possibly carcinogenic. Knowledge is also limited on the consequences of cumulative lifetime exposure to carcinogens, relevant time windows of exposure (e.g., early life), and on the interaction of multiple concurrent exposures (Nudelman et al. 2009;President's Cancer Panel 2010). In addition, further research is needed on the impact of environmental and occupational exposures in lowand medium-income countries, which often have higher exposure levels or higher lifetime cumulative exposure, lesser protection levels, or different exposure patterns (e.g., an earlier age at first exposure because of child labor) compared to high-income countries that currently provide most of the data (McCormack and Schüz 2011). ...
Background: Nearly 13 million new cancer cases and 7.6 million cancer deaths occur worldwide each year; 63% of cancer deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries. A substantial proportion of all cancers are attributable to carcinogenic exposures in the environment and the workplace.
Objective: We aimed to develop an evidence-based global vision and strategy for the primary prevention of environmental and occupational cancer.
Methods: We identified relevant studies through PubMed by using combinations of the search terms “environmental,” “occupational,” “exposure,” “cancer,” “primary prevention,” and “interventions.” To supplement the literature review, we convened an international conference titled “Environmental and Occupational Determinants of Cancer: Interventions for Primary Prevention” under the auspices of the World Health Organization, in Asturias, Spain, on 17–18 March 2011.
Discussion: Many cancers of environmental and occupational origin could be prevented. Prevention is most effectively achieved through primary prevention policies that reduce or eliminate involuntary exposures to proven and probable carcinogens. Such strategies can be implemented in a straightforward and cost-effective way based on current knowledge, and they have the added benefit of synergistically reducing risks for other noncommunicable diseases by reducing exposures to shared risk factors.
Conclusions: Opportunities exist to revitalize comprehensive global cancer control policies by incorporating primary interventions against environmental and occupational carcinogens.
... For example, weight gain, exposure to ultraviolet radiation, lack of exercise, smoking and high alcohol intake can greatly increase the risk of further morbidity during breast cancer survivorship (Ganz & Hahn, 2008;Jones & Demark-Wahnefried, 2006). Hence survivors are encouraged to practise health-promotion and riskreduction strategies, and to adopt behaviour changes with respect to modifiable risk factors such as diet, alcohol intake, smoking, weight gain and environmental exposure to radiation (Hankinson, Colditz, & Willett, 2004;Norman et al., 2007;Nudelman et al., 2009). ...
This book constitutes the proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Information Communication Technologies in Health (ICICTH), held in Samos, Greece, in July 2009.
