Really Radon increases breast cancer risk factors?
A radon exposure present in the surrounding environment may be suspected of increasing the risk of breast cancer. Is that true?
Breast cancer is a multifactorial disease. This means that the disease can arise from several different causes. For 5-10 percent of the population, it is the result of a mutation inherited in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes or other genetic mutations. "However, for another 90 percent, breast cancer occurs for other reasons," said Dr. J. Jaime Alberty, a Dubin Breast surgeon at Mount Sinai Hospital. Then, is it true that radon chemicals can be one of its agents?
Exposure to negative environmental conditions, lifestyles, personal and family histories can be a contributing factor. Because there are so many potential influences in the development of breast cancer during a person's lifetime, it is difficult to point to one thing as the cause of a particular case.
To reduce the risk, doctors advise to run a healthy lifestyle, a healthy diet and avoid obesity. Also, it is necessary to limit exposure to carcinogens (cancer-causing agents) in the environment, including the exposure of radon.
What is Radon?
According to The National Cancer Institute, radon is a radioactive gas that is removed from normal decay from elements of uranium, thorium, and radium in rocks and soils.
"Radon can diffuse into groundwater, odorless, tasteless, invisible. Radon also does not do what the substance does generally, namely rot and breaks into new particles, "said Dr. David P. Carbone, director of Thoracic Center and professor of medicine at Ohio State University.
"One is called an alpha particle, which is a high-energy particle that can do a lot of DNA damage," he added.
Because it is a gas, radon is easily inhalation into the lungs, which could potentially alter your body's DNA repair mechanisms. This can lead to tumor and cancer development.
Alberty agrees that there is a potential threat to breast cells from radon exposure related to location issues. "Theoretically, lungs and breasts are next to each other and are neighboring anatomically. So it makes sense that radon could potentially cause DNA problems that could develop into breast cancer. "
"However, the radon particles do not penetrate very deep into the tissues," says Carbone. Therefore, radon is more likely to cause lung cancer than other cancers.
"When radon is inhalation, the gas in your lungs has the potential to trigger lung cancer. But humans still have a few millimeters of skin before the radon gases get to your breast cells. So in theory, the risk of lung cancer will be greater than breast cancer, "he explained.
Susceptible to exposure to radon
To date, there is little evidence of the relationship between exposure to radon and breast cancer. What is known today comes from a 2017 study in the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. They record about 112,000 nurses enrolled in the Nurses ' Health Study II.
Harvard researchers linked the incidence of breast cancer to radon exposure maps. As a result, they found no overall connection between radon exposure and the risk of developing breast cancer. More concerning, high radon levels are found in settlements, schools, and public buildings.
The Environmental Protection Agency estimates there are approximately 20,000 cases of lung cancer per year in the United States due to radon exposure. This renders radon as the second largest cause of lung cancer, after cigarettes.
Smokers who are presented to radon have high dangers of creating lung cancer. Similarly, people work in the basement for mining. As well as those who work or stay in a room that has no good ventilation. This group was seriously prone to radon, according to Alberty.
May trigger breast cancer or not, radon obviously adversely affect humans. The simplest way to avoid exposure to radon is to always keep the air circulation indoors. Radon levels in your home, work, or school can change over time. Also, periodically check with a doctor to better monitor your health.