Koval LE, Dionisio KL, Friedman KP, Isaacs KK, Rager JE. Environmental mixtures and breast cancer: identifying co-exposure patterns between understudied vs breast cancer-associated chemicals using chemical inventory informatics.
JOURNAL OF EXPOSURE SCIENCE & ENVIRONMENTAL EPIDEMIOLOGY 2022;
32:794-807. [PMID:
35710593 DOI:
10.15139/s3/umpckw]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2022] [Revised: 05/27/2022] [Accepted: 05/31/2022] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Although evidence linking environmental chemicals to breast cancer is growing, mixtures-based exposure evaluations are lacking.
OBJECTIVE
This study aimed to identify environmental chemicals in use inventories that co-occur and share properties with chemicals that have association with breast cancer, highlighting exposure combinations that may alter disease risk.
METHODS
The occurrence of chemicals within chemical use categories was characterized using the Chemical and Products Database. Co-exposure patterns were evaluated for chemicals that have an association with breast cancer (BC), no known association (NBC), and understudied chemicals (UC) identified through query of the Silent Spring Institute's Mammary Carcinogens Review Database and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Toxicity Reference Database. UCs were ranked based on structure and physicochemical similarities and co-occurrence patterns with BCs within environmentally relevant exposure sources.
RESULTS
A total of 6793 chemicals had data available for exposure source occurrence analyses. 50 top-ranking UCs spanning five clusters of co-occurring chemicals were prioritized, based on shared properties with co-occuring BCs, including chemicals used in food production and consumer/personal care products, as well as potential endocrine system modulators.
SIGNIFICANCE
Results highlight important co-exposure conditions that are likely prevalent within our everyday environments that warrant further evaluation for possible breast cancer risk.
IMPACT STATEMENT
Most environmental studies on breast cancer have focused on evaluating relationships between individual, well-known chemicals and breast cancer risk. This study set out to expand this research field by identifying understudied chemicals and mixtures that may occur in everyday environments due to their patterns of commercial use. Analyses focused on those that co-occur alongside chemicals associated with breast cancer, based upon in silico chemical database querying and analysis. Particularly in instances when understudied chemicals share physicochemical properties and structural features with carcinogens, these chemical mixtures represent conditions that should be studied in future clinical, epidemiological, and toxicological studies.
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