UW Health: National breast cancer initiative looks at environmental risks

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UW Carbone Cancer Center to coordinate large study


MADISON, Wis. — A national study to look at the environmental and genetic causes of breast cancer will have its coordinating center at the University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center, the National Institutes of Health announced this week.

UW Carbone researchers will use a $3 million grant to coordinate research between scientists at six leading research institutions: Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston; City of Hope/Beckman Research Institute, Duarte, California; Columbia University, New York City; Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, Washington, D.C.; Michigan State University, Lansing; and University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

The Breast Cancer and the Environment Research Program (BCERP), a joint effort co-funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) and the National Cancer Institute (NCI), is designed to find ways to prevent cancer by better understanding its environmental causes, and factors, such as breast density, which may create higher cancer risk.

“I am excited about this project because it brings together community partners and researchers, since breast-cancer advocates and community partners are involved in every activity of the project — from defining research questions to developing toolkits to share with the public,” says Dr. Amy Trentham-Dietz, the coordinating center’s lead researcher and professor of population health sciences.

“Our community partners help us to identify gaps to address with new research studies, and also to translate science into practical steps that we can take to prevent breast cancer based on what we already know.”

UW researchers involved in the project include Dr. James Shull, professor of oncology; Dr. Sara Lindberg, associate scientist in population health sciences; Dr. Kristen Malecki, assistant professor of population health sciences; Dr. Michael Gould, professor of oncology; Dr. Ronald Gangnon, associate professor of population health sciences; and Dr. Christopher Bradfield, professor of oncology. The team also includes Mary Pat Berry, a local breast cancer advocate.

One area of study will be “windows” in females’ lives when girls and women may be more susceptible to environmental harm that could cause breast cancer. These time periods include puberty, pregnancy, and menopause, when scientists believe the breast tissue may be more vulnerable to environmental harm.

Nationally, the project will also focus on minority and disadvantaged women to help address disparities in breast-cancer outcomes. Although African-American women are diagnosed with breast-cancer less often than white women, they tend to develop more aggressive cancers and have higher breast cancer death rates.

For more on the national study, see the National Institute of Environmental Health Services’s BCERP announcement.