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Is cadmium a risk factor for breast cancer - Results from a nested case-control study using data from the malmö diet and cancer study

Andersson, Eva M. ; Sandsveden, Malte LU ; Forsgard, Niklas ; Sallsten, Gerd ; Manjer, Jonas LU ; Engström, Gunnar LU and Barregard, Lars (2021) In Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention 30(9). p.1744-1752
Abstract

Background: Some studies have shown that cadmium (Cd) is associated with breast cancer risk. One hypothesis is that Cd has estrogen-like properties. This case-control study investigated the association between breast cancer risk and blood Cd (BCd) levels. Methods: All breast cancers in the Malmö Diet and Cancer cohort were identified through linkage to the Swedish Cancer Registry, baseline (1991-1996) through 2014. Two controls per case were selected from the same cohort. BCd was analyzed at baseline. Associations were analyzed using logistic regression. Results: Mean BCd was 0.51 mg/L among 1, 274 cases and 0.46 among 2, 572 controls. There was an overall increased risk of breast cancer [OR, 1.18; 95% confidence interval (CI),... (More)

Background: Some studies have shown that cadmium (Cd) is associated with breast cancer risk. One hypothesis is that Cd has estrogen-like properties. This case-control study investigated the association between breast cancer risk and blood Cd (BCd) levels. Methods: All breast cancers in the Malmö Diet and Cancer cohort were identified through linkage to the Swedish Cancer Registry, baseline (1991-1996) through 2014. Two controls per case were selected from the same cohort. BCd was analyzed at baseline. Associations were analyzed using logistic regression. Results: Mean BCd was 0.51 mg/L among 1, 274 cases and 0.46 among 2, 572 controls. There was an overall increased risk of breast cancer [OR, 1.18; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.05-1.36] per mg/L of BCd. An increased risk was, however, only found at high BCd [OR, 1.34 (95% CI, 1.05-1.73)] for BCd more than 1.20 mg/L. The group with the highest BCd was mainly smokers. A spline indicated that at BCd less than 1.0 mg/L, the OR was not increased. The association with BCd was stronger in current smokers and at body mass index (BMI) above 25, while no modification due to receptor status was found. Conclusions: The results indicated increased risk of breast cancer only for high Cd exposure, which occurred mainly among smokers. This made it difficult to disentangle the effects of smoking and Cd, despite inclusion of smoking habits in the models. Impact: This study provides support for reducing Cd exposure through smoking cessation and dietary choice. On the population level, preventive measures against Cd pollution are warranted.

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author
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organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention
volume
30
issue
9
pages
9 pages
publisher
American Association for Cancer Research
external identifiers
  • pmid:34244159
  • scopus:85112509281
ISSN
1055-9965
DOI
10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-21-0181
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
4fbb8d8c-9eb9-4942-a5f9-4dd02ce4d206
date added to LUP
2022-03-03 16:37:32
date last changed
2024-05-02 07:00:52
@article{4fbb8d8c-9eb9-4942-a5f9-4dd02ce4d206,
  abstract     = {{<p>Background: Some studies have shown that cadmium (Cd) is associated with breast cancer risk. One hypothesis is that Cd has estrogen-like properties. This case-control study investigated the association between breast cancer risk and blood Cd (BCd) levels. Methods: All breast cancers in the Malmö Diet and Cancer cohort were identified through linkage to the Swedish Cancer Registry, baseline (1991-1996) through 2014. Two controls per case were selected from the same cohort. BCd was analyzed at baseline. Associations were analyzed using logistic regression. Results: Mean BCd was 0.51 mg/L among 1, 274 cases and 0.46 among 2, 572 controls. There was an overall increased risk of breast cancer [OR, 1.18; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.05-1.36] per mg/L of BCd. An increased risk was, however, only found at high BCd [OR, 1.34 (95% CI, 1.05-1.73)] for BCd more than 1.20 mg/L. The group with the highest BCd was mainly smokers. A spline indicated that at BCd less than 1.0 mg/L, the OR was not increased. The association with BCd was stronger in current smokers and at body mass index (BMI) above 25, while no modification due to receptor status was found. Conclusions: The results indicated increased risk of breast cancer only for high Cd exposure, which occurred mainly among smokers. This made it difficult to disentangle the effects of smoking and Cd, despite inclusion of smoking habits in the models. Impact: This study provides support for reducing Cd exposure through smoking cessation and dietary choice. On the population level, preventive measures against Cd pollution are warranted. </p>}},
  author       = {{Andersson, Eva M. and Sandsveden, Malte and Forsgard, Niklas and Sallsten, Gerd and Manjer, Jonas and Engström, Gunnar and Barregard, Lars}},
  issn         = {{1055-9965}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{9}},
  pages        = {{1744--1752}},
  publisher    = {{American Association for Cancer Research}},
  series       = {{Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention}},
  title        = {{Is cadmium a risk factor for breast cancer - Results from a nested case-control study using data from the malmö diet and cancer study}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-21-0181}},
  doi          = {{10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-21-0181}},
  volume       = {{30}},
  year         = {{2021}},
}