In utero DDT exposure and breast density in early menopause by maternal history of breast cancer

• Published in: Reproductive toxicology (Elmsford, N.Y.) Vol. 92; pp. 78 - 84
• Main Authors: McDonald, Jasmine A., Cirillo, Piera M., Tehranifar, Parisa, Krigbaum, Nickilou Y., Engmann, Natalie J., Cohn, Barbara A., Terry, Mary Beth
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 01.03.2020
• Subjects: Breast - anatomy & histology; Breast - diagnostic imaging; Breast Density; Breast Neoplasms - epidemiology; California - epidemiology; Child health and development studies; Cohort Studies; DDT; DDT organochlorines; Dense area; Environmental Pollutants; Female; Humans; In utero exposure; Mammographic breast density; Maternal Exposure; Maternal-Fetal Exchange; Medical History Taking; Middle Aged; Nondense area; Percent density; Pesticides; Pregnancy; Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects - epidemiology; California; In utero exposure; Nondense area; Percent density; MBCa; Dense area; DDT organochlorines; CHDS; Child health and development studies; Mammographic breast density; MBD
• ISSN: 0890-6238; 1873-1708
• DOI: 10.1016/j.reprotox.2019.08.009

•Intermediate marker, breast density, addresses long induction period challenges.•In utero o,p’-DDT associated with higher dense breast area in maternal BC + daughters.•Mammographic breast density is affected by intrauterine DDT and maternal BC status. We examined the relationship between intrauterine dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) exposure (o,p’-DDT, p,p’-DDT, and p,p’-DDE) and mammographic breast density (MBD) in midlife, one of the strongest risk factors for breast cancer. We focused our analyses on o,p’-DDT exposure given our previous report of a positive association between intrauterine o,p’-DDT exposure and daughter’s breast cancer (BC) risk. Here we estimated associations of intrauterine serum DDTs with MBD in 224 daughters of women in the Child Health and Development Studies pregnancy cohort whose mothers did not develop BC (MBCa−) and 156 daughters whose mothers did develop BC (MBCa+). In MBCa+ daughters, highest relative to lowest quartile of o,p’-DDT exposure was associated with a 17-unit higher dense area (95% CI = 2.6–31.2; Ptrend = 0.01). We did not observe an association between o,p’-DDT and density measures in MBCa− daughters. MBD, an intermediate marker of BC risk, may be affected by intrauterine DDT exposures; MBCa status may modify the association.