Although women have little or no control over some of the risk factors for breast cancer, such as those related to aging and genetics, they may be able to reduce their chances for developing the disease by avoiding certain environmental risks. Breast Cancer and the Environment: A Life Course Approach, a new report from the Institute of Medicine, assesses the breast cancer risk posed by various environmental factors, identifies actions that offer potential to reduce women's risk for the disease, and recommends targets for future research. The report, sponsored by Susan G. Komen for the Cure, will be released with a press briefing and presented at a plenary session at the 2011 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS).
DETAILS:
The report will be released on Wednesday, Dec. 7, at a one-hour press briefing starting at 1:30 p.m. EST/12:30 p.m. CST in Room 217D of the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center, 200 E. Market St., San Antonio. Reporters who cannot attend may participate through a live teleconference by dialing 888-647-7462 (U.S. and Canada) or 1-201-604-0169 (international). Participants from the committee that wrote the report are:
- Irva Hertz-Picciotto (chair), professor and chief, division of environmental and occupational health, University of California, Davis
- David Eaton, associate vice provost for research, and professor and director, Center for Ecogenetics and Environmental Health, University of Washington, Seattle
- Robert A. Hiatt, professor and chair, department of epidemiology and biostatistics, and director. population sciences, Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of California, San Francisco
- Cheryl Lyn Walker, Welch Professor and director, Institute of Biosciences and Technology, Texas A&M Health Science Center, College Station
Advance copies of the report will be available to reporters only beginning at 11 a.m. EST Tuesday, Dec. 6. THE REPORT IS EMBARGOED UNTIL 1:30 P.M. EST WEDNESDAY, DEC. 7. Reporters can obtain a copy and arrange interviews with members of the authoring committee by contacting the National Academies' Office of News and Public Information; tel. 202-334-2138 or e-mail news@nas.edu. More information on the study is available at http://www.iom.edu/BreastCancerEnvironment.
The report will be discussed at a SABCS plenary session beginning at 2:45 p.m. EST/1:45 p.m. CST in Exhibit Hall D of the convention center. For more information about SABCS, contact Jeremy Moore, tel. 215-446-7109. Media information is available at http://www.sabcs.org/Media/index.asp.