Yes, Breast Cancer Rates are on the Rise

State of the Evidence 2008:
The Connection Between Breast Cancer and the Environment

Edited by Janet Gray, Ph.D., published by the Breast Cancer Fund

State of the
Evidence 2008

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Advocate's Guide to State of the Evidence

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Breast cancer incidence rates in the United States increased by more than 40 percent between 1973 and 1998. In 2008, a woman's lifetime risk of breast cancer is one in eight.

State of the Evidence 2008 is a comprehensive report on the environmental exposures linked to increased breast cancer risk, including natural and synthetic estrogens; xenoestrogens and other endocrine-disrupting compounds; carcinogenic chemicals and radiation.

This exhaustive catalog provides a much more complex picture of breast cancer causation than traditionally accepted, one in which timing, mixtures and dose of environmental exposures interact with genes and lifestyle factors.

The scientific evidence provides the basis to move forward with research and public policy changes that will help reduce our exposure to chemicals and radiation linked to increased breast cancer risk.

Findings

While each study, chemical and exposure source alone doesn't tell the whole story, looking at them together allows us to better understand how to prevent the disease. Learn more about major emerging themes in breast cancer causation through the links below.

Complexity of breast cancer causation
Timing of exposure matters
Mixtures: Chemicals, radiation and genes

Sources of Exposure
Learn more about where and how we come into contact with chemicals and radiation linked to increased breast cancer risk. Then learn what can be done to reduce those exposures.

Air pollution
Consumer exposures
Occupational exposures
Pesticides
Radiation

Chemicals of Concern by Type
The evidence is divided into three main sections, examining the scientific links to breast cancer within each category. Click on each category for an overview and list of chemical fact sheets.

Chemical carcinogens
Hormones and endocrine disrupting compounds
Radiation

Also Available:
An Advocate's Guide to State of the Evidence 2008

Previous editions of State of the Evidence:
View State of the Evidence 2006 »
View State of the Evidence 2004 »
View State of the Evidence 2003 »
View State of the Evidence 2002 »