Breast cancer – looking at the role of the working environment

[28 March 2011 - 17h07]
[mis à jour le 29 March 2011 à 17h10]

A team of researchers at INSERM in France has been studying the impact of the working environment on the development of breast cancer. Women who work at night, for example, and women who work in the textile industry or in the manufacture of plastics appear to be more at risk than others.

Today, many risk factors have been clearly identified: genetic characteristics, family history, late pregnancy and certain hormone treatments used in the menopause. However, these only explain a minority of cases, points out Pascal Guénel, director of research at INSERM’s Epidemiology and Public Health Research Centre at Paris South 11 University. We therefore decided to look at the working environment.

With his team, he gathered information from 1,200 women who had suffered from breast cancer between 2005 and 2007. A control group was formed of 1,300 healthy women. A very precise questionnaire was used to retrace the working life of each of these women.

Certain jobs increase the risk of developing breast cancer, the author confirmed. Women working in industries such as textiles or the manufacture of plastics appear to be particularly at risk. We studied the incidence of exposure to certain components such as solvents and pesticides. Our study also identified a possible link between breast cancer and night work.

The women most exposed to this are those who have worked in the health, catering and transport sectors. It appears that changes in the biological clock – through its effect on hormone mechanisms – also play a role. In Denmark for example, breast cancer is already recognised as an occupational disease among women who have done night work for many years.

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