SISTER STUDY RESEARCH

Environmental and socioeconomic factors in the geographic variation of breast cancer risk

Sister Study investigators examined how geography and neighborhood-level environmental and socioeconomic factors may contribute to breast cancer incidence. The lowest breast cancer rates were observed in the South and Southeast US, with a greater rates in the Northwest, Midwest, and Northeast. Of the measures considered, nitrogen dioxide (NO2; an indicator of traffic-related air pollution), light at night, and the area deprivation index (a measure of neighborhood level socioeconomic factors) were the most important residential-level predictors of breast cancer risk overall. These plus measures of the chemical composition of air pollution (specifically fine particulate matter, PM2.5) and greenspace were strong predictors of estrogen receptor positive breast cancer. These results support a role of environmental exposures in breast cancer incidence and suggest variability by breast cancer subtype.

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Understanding the role of environmental and socioeconomic factors in the geographic variation of breast cancer risk in the US-wide Sister Study.