Pesticides and Breast Cancer

Abstract

Along with other etiological factors like genetics, family history, age, etc. there is growing scientific evidence that exposure to chemicals, including pesticides is associated with increased incidence of breast cancer among women. Various animal studies have demonstrated the carcinogenic effect of pesticides byacting as Xenoestrogen, interacting and disrupting estrogen receptors or by damaging breast tissue DNA inducing malignancy/catalyzing existing DNA mutation in susceptible individuals. Pesticide’s role as a contributing etiological factor in growing incidence of breast cancer is of particular concern as pesticides is one of the chemicals to which humans get exposed every day in significant concentration. In this review we describe various kinds of pesticides and their respective associations to breast cancer.