Previous reports addressing the possible link between pesticides and breast cancer have been limited by small study sizes and restricted ranges of exposure due to a focus on urban rather than rural populations. Nonetheless, residues of DDT and other chlorinated hydrocarbons have been found to be elevated in women with breast cancer as compared to controls. The proposed study is built on the Carolina Breast Cancer Study, a case- control study of breast cancer funded by the National Cancer Institute's SPORE program. Of 900 identified cases, an estimated 800 cases will be included, divided evenly into four groups by race (black, white) and age (<50, 50+). They will be compared to 800 controls with the same race and age distribution. Nurse interviewers are collecting blood and administering a detailed interview concerning the complete array of known and suspected risk factors for breast cancer, including several items concerning pesticides. The proposed study will address pesticide exposure by extending data collection to include detailed assessment of exposure to pesticides and related chlorinated hydrocarbons. The additional exposure assessment will include a detailed interview of selected women (approximately 40% who have lived on farms) to assess historical pesticide exposures in agriculture, assays of blood samples for residues of DDT, PCBs, and related chlorinated hydrocarbon compounds, and genetic polymorphisms affecting carcinogen- metabolizing enzymes. Pesticide exposures will be compared in cases and controls to derive estimates of the relative risk associated with level of exposure to chlorinated hydrocarbons and other pesticides. Effect modification by polymorphisms in carcinogen-metabolizing enzymes will also be examined. The size, racial composition, and rural residence of the population, combined with the biochemical and interview-based assessment of exposure, represent significant improvements on past studies of this issue.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
1R01ES007128-01
Application #
2156265
Study Section
Epidemiology and Disease Control Subcommittee 2 (EDC)
Project Start
1995-01-01
Project End
1997-12-31
Budget Start
1995-01-01
Budget End
1995-12-31
Support Year
1
Fiscal Year
1995
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
University of North Carolina Chapel Hill
Department
Internal Medicine/Medicine
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
078861598
City
Chapel Hill
State
NC
Country
United States
Zip Code
27599
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Li, Yu; Millikan, Robert C; Bell, Douglas A et al. (2004) Cigarette smoking, cytochrome P4501A1 polymorphisms, and breast cancer among African-American and white women. Breast Cancer Res 6:R460-73
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Platner, Janice H; Bennett, L Michelle; Millikan, Robert et al. (2002) The partnership between breast cancer advocates and scientists. Environ Mol Mutagen 39:102-7
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Millikan, R; DeVoto, E; Duell, E J et al. (2000) Dichlorodiphenyldichloroethene, polychlorinated biphenyls, and breast cancer among African-American and white women in North Carolina. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 9:1233-40
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Millikan, R C; Pittman, G S; Newman, B et al. (1998) Cigarette smoking, N-acetyltransferases 1 and 2, and breast cancer risk. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 7:371-8
DeVoto, E; Fiore, B J; Millikan, R et al. (1997) Correlations among human blood levels of specific PCB congeners and implications for epidemiologic studies. Am J Ind Med 32:606-13