Executive Summary
"Breast cancer rates have been climbing steadily in the United
States and other industrialized countries, amounting to more than 1,000,000 cases per year worldwide. In
the United States, a woman's lifetime risk of breast cancer has nearly tripled during the past 4 decades.
In 2005, an estimated 211,240 U.S. women were diagnosed with invasive
breast cancer and more than 58,000 women were expected to be diagnosed with one type of in-situ breast cancer,
meaning the tumor is confined to its original location in the breast.
In 2005, breast cancer was expected to kill more than 40,000 American women and more than 410,000 women
worldwide.
The rate of new cases per year continues to inch upward in the U.S.
even though billions of dollars have been spent on breast cancer research.
Less than one out of every 10 cases occurs in women born with a
genetic predisposition for the disease, and as many as half of all breast cancers occur in women who have no
known risk factors for the disease.
The latest 2006 State of the Evidence report demonstrates that a
significant body of scientific evidence links exposure to radiation and synthetic chemicals to an increased risk
of breast cancer. It summarises the findings of more than 350 experimental, epidemiologic and ecological
studies and describes some of the ongoing controversies in breast cancer research.
The report recommends new directions for future research and includes
a 10-point plan to act on the evidence and reduce human exposure to radiation
[see below] and synthetic chemicals. This plan is based primarily on the
precautionary principle, which in part states that indication of harm, not just proof of harm, is
grounds for action.
Two decades of research on laboratory animals, wildlife and cell
behavior have shown the inadequacy of the long-held belief that "the dose makes the poison".
Scientists now know that the timing, duration and pattern of exposure are at least as important as the
dose. Low-dose exposure to [low frequency non-ionising radiation and] chemicals in the environment (parts
per billion or even per trillion) during a critical window of an organism's development can cause permanent
damage to organs and systems.
We are all exposed to radiation
and to hundreds, if not thousands, of chemicals every day of our lives, yet we know
very little about the likely synergistic effects of these multiple exposures. Testing one
exposure at a time for its effects ignores this reality.
Patterns of breast cancer incidence indicate the importance of
environmental exposures. Women who move from countries with low breast cancer rates to industrialized
countries soon acquire the higher risk of their new country. |
