Study Links Breast Cancer, Chemicals

A set of reports published Monday said more than 200 chemicals, including some in products such as shampoo and French fries, cause breast cancer in animals.

Seventy-three of the chemicals identified by researchers in a supplement to the journal Cancer are either in consumer products or are food contaminants, the Los Angeles Times reported. Another 10 are food additives. Thirty-five of the chemicals are in air pollution.

Overall, exposure to mammary gland carcinogens is widespread, the researchers wrote, the Times reported.These compounds are widely detected in human tissues and in environments, such as homes, where women spend time.

The researchers reviewed hundreds of studies on chemical exposure and breast cancer in animals. The study was conducted by researchers at several institutions: the Silent Spring Institute, a women’s environmental health institute in Newton, Mass.; Harvard’s Medical School and School of Public Health in Boston; the Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, N.Y.; and the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California.