Hui Chen*, Jing Dai
Background: Although more and more evidence shows that air pollution will increase the risk of breast cancer, the evidence is still insufficient. We aim to use national cancer registration data and air quality data to assess the association between air pollution exposure and female breast cancer incidence and mortality in China.
Methods: The study is a comparative study using open source data. The data of incidence and mortality of female breast cancer were released by China National Cancer Centre, grouped by region. The data of air pollutants (PM10, PM2.5, NO2, SO2) were published by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment of China. By establishing single-factor and multi-factor linear regression models of air pollutants and female breast cancer incidence and mortality, the relationship of them was quantitatively analysed.
Results: In China, the incidence and mortality of female breast cancer in urban are higher than rural, east and central are slightly higher than west. Single-factor and multi-factor linear regression analysis showed that there was a linear correlation between air pollutants (PM10, PM2.5, SO2, NO2) and the incidence of female breast cancer, and a linear correlation between air pollutants (SO2, PM10) and the mortality of female breast cancer. PM10 (PM2.5) has a greater impact on female breast cancer incidence than SO2 and NO2. SO2 has a greater impact on female breast cancer mortality than PM10 (PM2.5) and NO2.
Conclusion: The increased risk of female breast cancer and death is related to air pollutants (PM10, PM2.5, SO2, NO2). The control measures to reduce air pollution may reduce the incidence and mortality of female breast cancer in the future.