Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Act of 2005

Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths among American women.

More women in the United States are living with breast cancer than any other cancer (excluding skin cancer). Approximately 3,000,000 women in the United States are living with breast cancer, about 2,000,000 of which have been diagnosed and an estimated 1,000,000 who do not yet know that they have the disease.

Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among women in the United States and worldwide (excluding skin cancer). In 2005, it is estimated that 269,730 new cases of breast cancer will be diagnosed among women in the United States, 211,240 invasive breast cancers and 58,490 cases of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS).

Approximately 40,410 women in the United States will die from the disease in 2005. Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer death for women in the United States between the ages of 20 and 59, and the leading cause of cancer death for women worldwide.

A woman who lives into her 80s in the United States has a 1 in 7 chance of developing invasive breast cancer in her lifetime. This risk was 1 in 11 in 1975. In 2005, a new case of breast cancer will be diagnosed every 2 minutes and a woman will die from breast cancer every 13 minutes.

All women are at risk for breast cancer. About 90 percent of women who develop breast cancer do not have a family history of the disease.

The National Action Plan on Breast Cancer, a public private partnership, has recognized the importance of expanding the scope and breadth of biomedical, epidemiological, and behavioral research activities related to the etiology of breast cancer and the role of the environment.

To date, there has been only a limited research investment to expand the scope or coordinate efforts across disciplines or work with the community to study the role of the environment in the development of breast cancer.

In 2003, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences awarded grants to four research centers to begin to study the prenatal-to-adult environmental exposures that may predispose a woman to breast cancer. The currently funded research is examining the mammary tissue in animals and young girls and study the subjects’ life exposures to environmental, nutritional, and social factors that impact menarche. Early menarche, beginning menstruation before the age of 12, has been shown to increase breast cancer risk later in life.

The National Cancer Institute and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences have paired together to make those four centers possible. The two institutes work well together, combining their respective areas of expertise to the best advantage of the research.

In order to take full advantage of the tremendous potential for avenues of prevention, the Federal investment in the role of the environment and the development of breast cancer should be expanded. The research conducted at the four centers, while critically important, is one small facet of the many issues that must be addressed in order to gauge the link between environmental factors and breast cancer.

In order to understand the effect of chemicals and radiation on the development of cancer, multi-generational, prospective studies are probably required.