Citation
Parada, Humberto, Jr.; Benmarhnia, Tarik; Engel, Lawrence S.; Sun, Xuezheng; Tse, Chiu-Kit J.; Hoh, Eunha; Olshan, Andrew F.; & Troester, Melissa A. (2021). A Congener-Specific and Mixture Analysis of Plasma Polychlorinated Biphenyl Levels and Incident Breast Cancer. Epidemiology, 32(4), 499-507.Abstract
BACKGROUND: Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), a diverse class of chemicals, are hypothesized mammary carcinogens. We examined plasma levels of 17 PCBs as individual congeners and as a mixture in association with breast cancer using a novel approach based on quantile g-computation.METHODS: This study included 845 White and 562 Black women who participated in the population-based, case-control Carolina Breast Cancer Study Phase I. Cases (n=748) were women with a first diagnosis of histologically confirmed, invasive breast cancer residing in 24 counties in central and eastern North Carolina; controls (n=659) were women without breast cancer from the same counties. PCBs were measured in plasma samples obtained during the study interview. We estimated associations (covariate-adjusted odds ratios [ORs] and 95% confidence intervals [CIs]) between individual PCB congeners and breast cancer using multivariable logistic regression. We assessed PCB mixtures using quantile g-computation and examined effect measure modification by race.
RESULTS: Comparing highest and lowest tertiles of PCBs resulted in ORs of 1.3 (95%CI=0.95-1.8) for congener 74, 1.4 (95%CI=1.0-1.9) for 99, 1.3 (95%CI=0.91-1.8) for 194, and 1.2 (95%CI=0.90-1.7) for 201. Among all women, we estimated a joint effect of the PCB mixture with an OR of 1.3 (95%CI=0.98-1.6) per tertile change. In race-stratified analyses, associations for tertiles of PCB mixtures were stronger among Black women (OR=1.5, 95%CI=1.0-2.3) than among White women (OR=1.1, 95%CI=0.81-1.6).
CONCLUSION: Our results are consistent with the hypothesis that exposure to PCB mixtures increase the risk of breast cancer, but studies of populations with different exposure profiles are needed.
URL
http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/ede.0000000000001356Reference Type
Journal ArticleYear Published
2021Journal Title
EpidemiologyAuthor(s)
Parada, Humberto, Jr.Benmarhnia, Tarik
Engel, Lawrence S.
Sun, Xuezheng
Tse, Chiu-Kit J.
Hoh, Eunha
Olshan, Andrew F.
Troester, Melissa A.
Article Type
RegularData Set/Study
Carolina Breast Cancer Study (CBCS)Continent/Country
United States of AmericaState
NonspecificRace/Ethnicity
BlackWhite