Association between air pollution and female breast cancer: a meta-analysis

Objective: To explore whether there is association between air pollution and female breast cancer by conducting a meta-analysis. Materials and Methods: Publications addressing the association between air pollution and female breast cancer risk were selected from PubMed, Medline-Ebsco, Web of Science, Google Scholar, CNKI, and other related research databases. Data were extracted from studies by two independent reviewers. The meta-analysis was performed by R 3.2.0 software, and odds ratio (OR) with a 95%-confidence interval (CI) were calculated. Results: Finally, nine case-control studies were retrieved with a total of independent 43 control groups. Significant association was identified between air pollution and female breast cancer (OR = 1.13, 95% CI: 1.07−1.20, p < 0.0001). Meanwhile, according to the nationality of the study population, stratified analysis found that people in America association between air pollution and breast cancer was statistically significant (OR = 1.13, 95% CI: 1.07−1.20, p < 0.0001); In European populations, the association between air pollution and breast cancer in women was not statistically significant (OR = 0.67, 95% CI: 0.36−1.24, p = 0.2030). In Asian populations, the association between air pollution and breast cancer was statistically significant (OR = 1.71, 95% CI: 1.06−2.76, p = 0.0279). Menopause stratified analysis showed that premenopausal women and the association between air pollution and breast cancer was statistically significant (OR = 1.23, 95% CI: 1.09−1.40, p = 0.0009). For postmenopausal women, association between air pollution and breast cancer was also statistically significant (OR = 1.11, 95% CI: 1.03−1.20, p = 0.0093). Conclusion: The present study confirms that there is association between air pollution and female breast cancer.

breast cancer, air pollution, meta-analysis.

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