Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons and Breast Cancer: A Review of the Literature

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) exist and persist in the atmosphere due to the incomplete combustion of fossil fuels, and are established human carcinogens. The influence of PAHs on the development of breast cancer, the most commonly diagnosed cancer in women worldwide, remains unclear. As established risk factors only account for approximately 41% of the breast cancer cases in the USA, researchers have sought to uncover environmental factors involved in breast cancer development. The breasts are particularly susceptible to aromatic carcinogenesis, and the implementation of biomarkers has provided promising insights regarding PAH-DNA adducts in breast cancer. The use of biomarkers measuring PAH-DNA adducts assesses exposure to eliminate the bias inherent in self-reporting measures in case-control studies investigating the link between PAHs and cancer. Adduct levels reflect exposure dose as well as how the body responds to this exposure, which is partially attributable to genetic variability. Evidence suggests that exposure to PAHs has a causational effect on breast cancer in humans, yet this interaction is not clearly understood. In vitro and animal-based studies have consistently revealed that exposure to PAHs deleteriously affects breast tissue, but there is no definitive link between these compounds and breast cancer.