Key clinical point: Women who were exposed to fine particulate matter, ie, airborne particles with an aerodynamic diameter ≤ 2.5 μm (PM2.5), showed an increased risk of developing breast cancer (BC), particularly estrogen receptor-positive (ER+) BC.
Major finding: As little as a 10 µg/m3 increase in PM2.5 concentration during 1980-1984 increased the incident risk for BC by 8% (hazard ratio [HR] 1.08; 95% CI 1.02-1.13), with the risk being even higher in case of ER+ BC (HR 1.10; 95% CI 1.04-1.17).
Study details: Findings are from an analysis of a prospective, US-based cohort including 196,905 women with no prior history of cancer, of whom 15,870 developed incident BC.
Disclosures: This study was funded by the US National Institutes of Environmental Health Sciences and the US National Cancer Institute Intramural Program. The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
Source: White AJ et al. Ambient fine particulate matter and breast cancer incidence in a large prospective US cohort. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2023 (Sep 11). doi: 10.1093/jnci/djad170