Report from the 2021 Workshop on Breast Cancer and the Environment
In May 2021, several experts from DCEG and colleagues participated in the workshop “Breast Cancer and the Environment: Controversial and Emerging Exposures,” cohosted by the National Cancer Institute and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS). Montserrat García-Closas, M.D., Dr.P.H., DCEG Deputy Director, Senior Investigator and Director of the Trans-Divisional Research Program, and Dr. Dale Sandler, Chief of the Epidemiology Branch and Senior Investigator, NIEHS, co-chaired the meeting.
Understanding how widespread exposure to known and potential carcinogens in the environment influences risk of breast cancer is critical for reducing the number of women who will be affected by this disease. Rapidly evolving science, including advances in epidemiologic and analytical methods and highly sensitive tools to detect very small amounts of carcinogens, along with mutational signatures in tumors, are opening exciting research opportunities.
The goal of this “state of the science” workshop was to identify new research opportunities and approaches to address knowledge gaps on how chemical and physical agents might impact people’s risk of developing breast cancer.