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11 February 2004

Sport-Caught Fish Potentially Linked to Breast Cancer in Premenopausal Women

Study in Environmental Health Perspectives Finds No Link in Larger Group of Women Studied, However

[RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC] Despite the known health hazards from particular toxicants found in lakes, a study published in the February issue of the peer-reviewed journal Environmental Health Perspectives (EHP) finds that consumption of sport-caught fish was not associated with breast cancer risk in Wisconsin women overall. However, the results do suggest that premenopausal women under age 40 who ate sport-caught fish may have a higher risk of developing the cancer.

Sport-caught fish remains an important way that humans ingest harmful agents, including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), the U.S.-banned pesticide DDT, and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), which are common flame retardants.
The researchers surveyed 1,481 Wisconsin women aged 20-69 who were newly diagnosed with breast cancer between 1998 and 2000 and asked them about their consumption of sport-caught fish over a 12-month period five years before their diagnosis. They also asked a randomly selected control group of 1,301 Wisconsin women of similar ages about their sport-caught fish consumption five years earlier.

Overall, the women who had recently consumed sport-caught fish were no more likely to get cancer than women who had never eaten sport-caught fish. However, premenopausal women under 40 did show almost double the risk of developing the cancer. Those who ate Great Lakes sport-caught fish had a 74% greater cancer risk.

Although this observed association may be due to chance, another possible explanation may be the influence of PBDE exposure at puberty or during early reproductive life, the study authors write. “Because recorded levels of PBDE have dramatically increased since the 1970s, this age cohort may be the most likely group exposed to these higher levels at puberty--a potentially vulnerable time of changing hormones and breast tissue growth--or during early reproductive life.”
Although PCBs and DDT are no longer used in the United States, they are still widely present in the environment, and they accumulate in fish. Many states, including most in the Great Lakes region, issue advisories warning anglers about potential contaminants in fish. However, the sport remains popular.

“ The initial findings from this study were reassuring,” said Dr. Jim Burkhart, science editor for EHP. “But this potential link to breast cancer in younger women needs more evaluation. We need to determine if this was a statistical anomaly or an early sign of a problem that will affect more and more women as they get older.”

The lead author of the study was Jane A. McElroy of the University of Wisconsin Comprehensive Cancer Center. Other authors were Marty S. Kanarek, Amy Trentham-Dietz, Stephanie A. Robert, John M. Hampton, Polly A. Newcomb, Henry A. Anderson, and Patrick L. Remington.

EHP is the journal of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. More information, including the full report, is available online at http://ehponline.org/docs/2003/6506/abstract.html.

Editor’s note: Working media can register to receive press releases via e-mail by visiting www.ehponline.org/press, calling 919-541-2359, or e-mailing adams6@niehs.nih.gov.