Organochlorine exposures and breast cancer risk in New York City women

A hospital-based case-control study of breast cancer risk related to organo chlorine (OC) exposure was conducted in a multiethnic setting in New York C ity. We enrolled 175 breast cancer patients and 355 control patients, The o verall racial/ethnic distribution was 57% Caucasian, 21% Hispanic, 22% Afri can-American; cases and controls were frequency-matched by age and race/eth nicity, Tumor markers (estrogen and progesterone receptors, p53, erbB-2) we re assessed and organochlorines (DDE, DDT, trans-nonachlor, and higher (HPC B) and lower (LPCB) chlorinated biphenyls) were measured in blood serum, Tu mors among minority women were of slightly higher stage than among Caucasia ns, but tumor markers were similar across the racial/ethnic groups. DDE lev els were highest among African-American and Hispanic women; DDT was highest among Hispanics; HPCBs were highest among African-Americans; LPCBs were lo west among Hispanics; and trans-nonachlor was highest among African-America ns. However, OC levels were not associated with risk for breast cancer, nor did OCs differ with respect to tumor stage or tumor markers, Higher DDE le vels were associated with increasing body mass index (BMI), but with decrea sing level of education, frequency of nulliparity, and frequency of family history of breast cancer. HPCB levels decreased with BMI and were not corre lated with breast cancer risk factors, These relationships can be attribute d to historical patterns of exposure and to metabolic differences in OCs re lated to BMI. (C) 2000 Academic Press.