Canadian scientists said in a research report that if a woman is often exposed to synthetic fiber and some petroleum by-products before her 30s, her risk of suffering from breast cancer after menopause will be at least twice as high.
Researchers from the Institute of occupational health research in Montreal, Canada, looked at the health records of 1169 women and studied whether there was a link between certain chemicals and the incidence rate of breast cancer.
The researchers divided the women into two groups for a comparative study. The first group of 556 women were diagnosed with breast cancer between 1996 and 1997. At the time of diagnosis, they were between 50 and 75 years old and had passed menopause. The second group of 613 women were diagnosed with other cancers during the same period. An expert group of chemists and industrial hygiene researchers compared the types and degrees of chemical exposure of the two groups of women in their careers.
The study found that in addition to the known predisposing factors of breast cancer, some common chemicals in textile factories and other places have certain associations with the incidence of breast cancer. Women who have long-term exposure to man-made fibers, nylon fibers and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons at work are three times more likely to develop breast cancer than other women. Among them, man-made fiber is the "most toxic killer", and women who have long been exposed to this substance have a 6-fold higher risk of breast cancer.
Some breast cancer research experts said that the data and conclusions drawn from such studies may be accidental, and it is too early to draw a conclusion now. David Cogan, Professor of occupational and environmental medicine at the University of Southampton in the UK, said: "in such studies, some conclusions and connections are often drawn by chance. If there is no more convincing evidence from other studies, this research result may be insignificant."
In response to this query, researchers from the Montreal Institute of occupational health research responded that they admitted that the research results may be accidental and not conclusive, but this is consistent with the conclusion of a previous study. That study showed that women's breast tissue was more sensitive to toxic substances before the age of 40.
In another breast cancer related study, researchers suggested that women should receive breast scanning regularly, so as to find out their condition as soon as possible and receive treatment, so as to avoid cancer killing.
Stephen Duffy, a researcher at the University of London, UK, and his colleagues found that although breast scanning has been controversial, the overall advantages outweigh the disadvantages.
Leslie walker, head of cancer information at the British cancer research foundation, said the study showed that breast scans could save lives. Women can get useful information through scanning and discuss how to treat with doctors.
Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers among women in the world. About 16% of all female cancer patients suffer from this disease. Reuters data show that breast cancer kills about 519000 women every year.
