Home → Lower Your Risk → Ask-the-Expert Conferences: Risk Factors → August 2005: Environmental Issues and Breast Cancer → Could toxins in textiles cause breast cancer?

Could toxins in textiles cause breast cancer?

Page last modified on: October 2, 2008

Question from Hbgin: My mother died of breast cancer. She worked at a chain of stores in which she cut cloth materials. Could there be some toxin in the materials that contributed to this?: Answers —Jennifer Griggs, M.D., M.P.H.: It's such a common impulse to explain things that have happened to us. Much of the conversation now has been a desire to seek answers for something we can't really explain.; Devra Davis, Ph.D., M.P.H.: All the studies we talk about here, where we have evidence of an increased risk of breast cancer, necessarily look at groups of people over time, and yet cancer affects individuals one at a time. So we are really limited when it comes to understanding the causes of breast cancer in individual women. With respect to textiles, however, many modern textiles are treated with formaldehyde and dyes, and these things have been found to increase mammary tumors. There are some workplace studies as well that indicate that this could be a risk for breast cancer in groups of people with this kind of exposure.

People who work as dry cleaners who were in that industry 20 to 30 years ago were exposed to chemicals that may cause mammary tumors. Women who use dry cleaning may be at a higher risk for developing breast cancer as well. So now there is a move to “green” dry cleaning that uses organic solvents instead of chlorinated hydrocarbon solvents. This is a good development for two reasons: some of these chlorinated solvents contribute to greenhouse gas emissions and some of these contaminate groundwater and are associated with an increased risk of health problems.

On Wednesday, August 17, 2005, our Ask-the-Expert Online Conference was called Environmental Issues and Breast Cancer. Devra Lee Davis, Ph.D., M.P.H., Sue Heffelfinger, M.D., Ph.D., and moderator Jennifer Griggs, M.D., M.P.H. answered your questions about which environmental hazards may increase your risk for breast cancer and how you can reduce them in the home and workplace.

The materials presented in these conferences do not necessarily reflect the views of breastcancer.org. A qualified healthcare professional should be consulted before using any therapeutic product or regimen discussed. All readers should verify all information and data before employing any therapies described here.

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Meet the Experts

Devra Lee Davis, Ph.D., MPH Devra Lee-Davis, Ph.D., M.P.H. directs the Environmental Oncology Center at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute.

Sue Heffelfinger, M.D., Ph.D. is director of an NIH Center for Breast Cancer and the Environment at the University of Cincinnati and also associate professor in the department of pathology and laboratory medicine.

Jennifer Griggs, M.D., M.P.H. is a medical oncologist specializing in the treatment of breast cancer, with a a special interest in cancer survivorship, patient-physician communication, and quality of care for women with breast cancer.