October 2003 Forum Summary
Cancer and Environment Forums

Regional Cancer and Environment Forum meets at Reid Castle,
Manhattanville College In Westchester County

BCERF Ad Hoc Discussion Group meetings have been re-named Regional Cancer and Environment Forums to better reflect the way that these forums have evolved. Diverse topics related to breast cancer and environmental risk factors will continue to be featured, and we hope to continue to draw both members of the public seeking to expand their knowledge in these areas, as well as professionals and activists with high levels of continuing involvement. We are happy to report a successful forum of about 37 participants on October 24, 2003 at Reid Castle, Manhattanville College, in Westchester County. Participants came from Westchester, Rockland, Nassau and Suffolk Counties, as well as from New York City.

Updates from organizations and elected officials

Congresswoman Nita Lowey, a long-time supporter of BCERF as well as a champion of increased federal investment in biomedical research into diseases such as cancer, diabetes and Alzheimer's, welcomed the group to her district and discussed some of the highlights of what has been accomplished and what remains to be done with regard to breast cancer research.

We heard particularly poignant updates from representatives of local organizations.

• Sherri Spalter, representing both the Westchester Breast Cancer Coalition and the National Breast Cancer Coalition, spoke about the urgent need to understand all aspects of environment's influences on cancer incidence.
• Rick Harper of Cornell Cooperative Extension of Westchester County spoke to the group about the connection between the concerns of this forum and the objectives of the New York State Integrated Pest Management Program. Rick is active in all aspects of pest management in the community and described recent legislation such as Neighbor Notification.
• Patti Wood brought the group highlights of the Silent Spring Institute's Household Exposure Study. The study of 120 homes in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, discovered very widespread exposures to 67 compounds such as chemicals found in plastics, detergents and cosmetics, as well as insecticides and flame retardants used in foam furnishings. As a specific example, the researchers found bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), which is "reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen", according to the National Institutes of Health, in the dust of every home tested, at concentrations ranging from 16.7 to 7700 micrograms per gram (µg/g). DEHP is used in a wide variety of products, including children's toys, shower curtains, raincoats, shoes, and floor tiles.
• Julie Wilstatter, Outreach Program Coordinator of Gilda's Club of Westchester, provided an overview of her organization's functions and expressed appreciation to those working to understand and reduce the incidence of cancer.
• Lauren Friedrich, Program Coordinator at the Maurer Foundation in Port Washington, described the outreach and education carried out through the Foundation's Young Women's Breast Health Program.

The group was also privileged to be joined by State Senator Suzi Oppenheimer representing the 37th district. Senator Oppenheimer shared with the group her interest in and passion for the issues being addressed at the forum.

Metropolitan New York Registry of Breast Cancer Families

Regina M. Santella, PhD, Professor of Environmental Health Sciences at the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University, spoke about the Metropolitan New York Registry of Breast Cancer Families. This registry is part of a worldwide group of breast and ovarian registries, providing an important resource for gene-environment studies. These registries - including five in the United States - have coordinated criteria for participation, and in study protocol. The goals of the registry include:

• Recruit high risk families from population-based cancer registries and clinical/community settings
• Bank data and biospecimens as a resource for family-based gene discovery and gene-environment research, with an ultimate goal to identify avenues for breast cancer prevention
• Protect the privacy and confidentiality of participants
• Inform family members of study findings and additional research opportunities

Dr. Santella described features of inherited breast cancers and shared examples of patterns in these families. She provided an overview of just some of the many study questions being pursued with information from the Registry, such as those addressing environmental modifiers of risk in BRCA carriers - like smoking, alcohol, exercise - as well as genetic modifiers of risk in BRCA carriers. For more information about the Registry, call (212) 305-9332 or (888) METRO-08.

Mapping Disease: Geographic Considerations in Disease Investigations

Zev Ross, a graduate of Cornell's Natural Resources Program and currently working as a consultant with Dr. Rod Page of the Sprecher Institute for Comparative Cancer research, presented on "Mapping Disease: Geographic Considerations in Disease Investigations." Zev, who is the author of the cover article of the special edition of the Ribbon newsletter looking at mapping breast cancer, did his own graduate work mapping breast cancer data in California. He gave an excellent description of geostatistics; that is, how the points in question on, for example, a disease map, are related with distance. In his breast cancer research in California he found that breast cancer rates remain correlated at up to 46 miles. These methods are helping to develop environmental hypotheses to help explain incidence.

Breast Cancer Research in Marin County, California and Beyond

Christine Erdmann, Ph. D., has just joined the faculty of the University of Michigan School of Public Health as an Assistant Professor of Epidemiology, and is also affiliated with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Dr. Erdmann has been involved in multiple projects analyzing breast cancer incidence and mortality trends in Marin County, California, and looking at how much the known breast cancer risk factors can account for different rates. She is closely involved in the community research collaborative, with Marin Breast Cancer Watch, called the Personal Environmental Risk Factors Study. Dr. Erdmann described the participatory methods of this study, such as the collection of maps from Marin County women, detailing their own ideas of where hazardous exposures may be occurring in their daily lives. She also spoke about breast nipple aspiration as a method for identifying markers of breast cancer risk.

Last Update 08.04.05

Program on Breast Cancer and Environmental Risk Factors
Cornell University, College of Veterinary Medicine
Vet Box 31, Ithaca, NY 14853-6401
Phone: 607.254.2893; Fax: 607.254.4730
Email: breastcancer@cornell.edu

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