Why is there concern that pesticides may affect breast cancer risk?
There has been concern about exposure to pesticides because of their widespread use in agriculture for crop and livestock protection, for public health in controlling disease-bearing insects, for pest control in homes, schools, workplaces, gardens, and in recreational areas such as parks and athletic fields. Currently, there are about 865 pesticide active ingredients registered with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and thousands of products containing these chemicals singly or in combination. Much of the concern about whether pesticides affect breast cancer risk stems from observations of higher rates of cancer in male workers with high exposures to pesticides. There are higher rates of some cancers in male farm workers, including lip and skin cancer, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and cancer of the stomach, brain and prostate (Blair and Zahm, Environ. Health Perspect. vol. 103 [Suppl. 8], pp. 205-208, 1995). Some of these cancers are due to excessive exposure to UV radiation from t
