RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Dichlorodiphenyldichloroethene, Polychlorinated Biphenyls, and Breast Cancer among African-American and White Women in North Carolina
JF Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention
JO Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev
FD American Association for Cancer Research
SP 1233
OP 1240
VO 9
IS 11
A1 Millikan, Robert
A1 DeVoto, Emily
A1 Duell, Eric J.
A1 Tse, Chiu-Kit
A1 Savitz, David A.
A1 Beach, James
A1 Edmiston, Sharon
A1 Jackson, Susan
A1 Newman, Beth
YR 2000
UL http://cebp.aacrjournals.org/content/9/11/1233.abstract
AB We examined plasma dichlorodiphenyldichloroethene (DDE) and total polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) levels in relation to breast cancer in a population-based, case-control study of African-American women (292 cases and 270 controls) and white women (456 cases and 389 controls) in North Carolina. Adjusted odds ratios (ORs) for breast cancer comparing the highest to lowest third of DDE were 1.41 [95% confidence interval (CI), 0.87–2.29] in African-American women and 0.98 (95% CI, 0.67–1.43) in white women. ORs comparing the highest to lowest third of total PCBs were 1.74 (95% CI, 1.00–3.01) in African-American women and 1.03 (95% CI, 0.68–1.56) in white women. Among African-Americans, the OR for total PCBs was highest for obese women (body mass index≥ 34.2; OR, 4.92; 95% CI, 1.63–14.83). In contrast, the OR for DDE was highest for the leanest African-American women (body mass index,<25; OR, 3.84; 95% CI, 0.98–15.08). ORs for DDE were not elevated among women who lived or worked on farms or elevated among farming women who reported exposure to pesticides. Our results suggest absence of a strong effect for DDE or total PCBs in breast cancer but lend support for associations among subgroups of women. In our study, factors such as income, parity, breastfeeding, race/ethnicity, and body mass index influenced the relationship of organochlorines and breast cancer. Differing distributions of such factors may explain some of the inconsistencies across previous studies.