RESEARCHING THE ENVIRONMENT AND WOMEN’S HEALTH /
FY 08 Research Funding Request
STOP BREAST CANCER BEFORE IT STARTS: Breast Cancer Risk Reduction Project
Connecticut, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Oregon and Washington… What do these states have in common? The top 5 BREAST CANCER rates in the country, 10% higher than national average.
Breast cancer lifetime risk has increased from 1 in 20 women in 1940 to 1 in 8 women currently. Massachusetts, with among the top 5 highest incidence rates in the country, has responded to this epidemic by leading efforts nationally to investigate causes of the disease, while taking action to eliminate the manufacture and use of cancer-causing chemicals. For over a decade, the Silent Spring Institute (Silent Spring) and the Massachusetts Breast Cancer Coalition (MBCC) have led efforts to investigate and educate about environmental risk factors for breast cancer. The University of Massachusetts Lowell, through the Toxics Use Reduction Institute and the LowellCenter for Sustainable Production, is an internationally recognized leader in helping industries, governments and communities reduce their use of cancer-causing chemicals.
We propose, with the Legislature’s leadership, the following Breast Cancer Risk Reduction Project – aimed at breast cancer risk reduction developing and applying the best available evidence to identify and eliminate exposures to environmental toxins and to develop and disseminate practical alternatives to chemicals of concern, funded at $1M through a new line item at the University of Massachusetts Lowell (7100-XXXX), as the next step in the fight against breast cancer:
Identify Breast Cancer “Hot Spots”
UMass Lowell and Silent Spring update and analyze breast cancer and environment tracking data to identify high-risk populations, disparities, and promising avenues for prevention research.
Exposure Tracking/Risk Reduction Pilot
Silent Spring, partnering with local experts, develops a program of exposure tracking and exposure reduction in MA homes, including those in high incidence areas and urban minority neighborhoods
Protect Drinking Water from Estrogen
Contamination
Silent Spring, partnering with experts to evaluate best ways to protect drinking water from estrogen contamination and other endocrine disruptors.
Innovative Breast Cancer Risk
Reduction Research
UMass Lowell, partnering with MBCC, Silent Spring citizens and other breast cancer prevention groups, will encourage innovative new prevention-oriented cancer research.
Research Background and Details
Identify Breast Cancer “Hot Spots”
Massachusetts has one of the highest breast cancer rates in the nation. Cape Cod women have significantly higher risk than others in the state. Most women diagnosed with breast cancer are the first in their family to get the disease. Genetics are not the main cause. We need to find environmental risk factors that we can change, so we can prevent breast cancer. Silent Spring Institute developed the Massachusetts Health and Environment Information System (MassHEIS), a sophisticated computer mapping system that integrates multiple data sources to explore patterns of disease in search of opportunities for prevention.
Next step: Dr. Richard Clapp (U Mass – Lowell) and Silent Spring Institute to update and analyze breast cancer and environment tracking data to identify high risk populations, disparities, and promising avenues for prevention research. Other hormonal diseases – prostate, testicular, endometrial, ovarian cancers and reproductive health – will benefit from this work.
Exposure Tracking /Risk Reduction Pilot
Silent Spring Institute’s groundbreaking Household Exposure Study showed widespread exposure in homes to pollutants that mimic estrogen, a known breast cancer risk factor. This research has been nationally recognized and cited in Consumer Reports, Business Week, the Los Angeles Times, and elsewhere.
Next step: Silent Spring Institute scientists and other local experts to develop a program of exposure tracking and exposure reduction for Massachusetts homes, including homes in areas with higher breast cancer risk (Cape Cod and some North Shore and western Boston suburbs) and urban minority populations at disproportionate risk.
Protect Drinking Water from Estrogen Contamination
Silent Spring Institute’s Cape Cod study was the first research anywhere to measure estrogenic activity in groundwater. New results published in a leading scientific journal and reported in Scientific American show estrogens from women’s urine, pharmaceuticals, and estrogen-mimics from laundry detergent pass through septic systems and into the environment, threatening drinking water on Cape Cod and other communities that rely on septic systems and well water.
Next step: Silent Spring Institute scientists and other scientists to evaluate the best ways to protect drinking water from estrogens and other endocrine disruptors.
Innovative Breast Cancer Risk Reduction Research
UMass Lowell will partner with Silent Spring, MBCC and other organizations to build a statewide initiative through which scientific research by Massachusetts scientists working closely with Massachusetts citizens’ organizations develops and demonstrates new breast cancer risk reduction strategies. There is an urgent need to stimulate researchers to ask new questions about breast cancer and the environment, to encourage new and innovative approaches to exploring this connection, and to engage affected communities in the research effort. Important areas of solutions-oriented research include green chemistry, clean energy and healthy indoor environments.
In Spring 2008, we will host a joint meeting on breast cancer risk reduction. The three partnering organizations, along with other scientists and community partners, will come together to discuss current and newly identified strategies and collaborative projects. Working with the Mass. Cancer Registry, we will present the latest breast cancer incidence and mortality data, highlighting trends by region, demographic groups and industry or occupations. This will be discussed as background for developing new initiatives to prevent and detect breast cancer more effectively in Massachusetts women.
For More Information, Please Contact Deborah Shields or Erin Boles at (617) 376-6222 or
Also, visit the following websites for more information on breast cancer rates in your district and latest research:
Silent Spring Institute, and the Massachusetts Breast Cancer Coalition,