Work in clothing, textiles linked to breast cancer

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Women who work in certain industries may face a greater risk of breast cancer, according to a study from Israel.

Breast cancer rates are climbing worldwide, and have also risen among Israeli women, Dr. Judith Shaham of the University of Tel-Aviv and colleagues note in their report. Exposure to potential carcinogens on the job may be a factor in the increase, given that more women have joined the workforce.

To better understand the relationship between occupational exposures and breast cancer, the researchers surveyed 326 women with breast cancer and 413 women who were free of the disease. 

Women who worked in the textile or clothing industry were about twice as likely to develop breast cancer as those who did not, the researchers found, while women whose work fell into the “various industries” category were at a four-fold increased cancer risk.

However, women who worked in administrative positions were at a 40 percent lower risk of developing breast cancer. Exposure to ionizing radiation increased cancer risk more than five-fold.

Eating a high-fiber or low-salt diet cut cancer risk, while women with a family history of breast cancer were more likely to develop the disease themselves.

Workers in clothing and textiles are exposed to a number of suspected or proven carcinogens on the job, the researchers note, including cotton dusts, dyes, flame retardants and organic solvents. Studies have also linked certain related occupations, such as spinning and weaving, to a greater breast cancer risk.

It is not possible to make “firm conclusions” about the “various industries” category, they add, because it included several small subgroups of women working in different fields.

“There is a possibility that exposure to carcinogens at work, especially those that mimic hormonal mechanisms, may have a synergistic effect with lifestyle and nutrition,” the researchers conclude.

SOURCE: American Journal of Industrial Medicine, December 2006.

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