Distribution of persistent, lipid-soluble chemicals in breast and abdominal adipose tissues: lessons learned from a breast cancer study.
OBJECTIVE
We sought to determine differences between concentrations of persistent, lipid-soluble chemical contaminants in breast and abdominal adipose tissues and to explore whether concentrations measured in one tissue could predict concentrations in the other tissue.


METHODS
We analyzed surgical specimens and measured concentrations of prevalent dioxins, furans, polychlorinated biphenyls, organochlorine pesticides, and brominated diphenyl ethers to determine their partitioning between breast and abdominal adipose tissues of 21 women. The women constituted a subgroup, undergoing mastectomies with simultaneous breast reconstruction, of a case-control study evaluating links between breast cancer and body burdens of organohalogen contaminants.


RESULTS
For every contaminant, differences between concentrations in breast and abdominal adipose tissues did not exceed the analytical error. Results indicated that, with some notable exceptions, measurements in breast and abdominal adipose tissues were correlated and that concentrations of target chemicals in one tissue could be derived from measurements in the other tissue.


CONCLUSIONS
This information will allow comparison of results from body burden studies that used different tissues. It may also facilitate future breast cancer studies by allowing selection of controls among patients undergoing surgical procedures other than breast surgery, minimizing concerns about overmatching. We also observed large differences in the lipid content of surgical specimens. These differences underscore the need for lipid adjustment of concentrations to avoid misclassification.
Hazardous Materials Laboratory, California Department of Toxic Substances Control, Berkeley, CA, USA. mpetreas@dtsc.ca.gov
Myrto
M
Petreas
Daniel
D
Smith
Susan
S
Hurley
Stefanie S
SS
Jeffrey
Debra
D
Gilliss
Peggy
P
Reynolds
D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000737:chemistry*; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001822:Body Burden; D001940:Breast / Q000737:chemistry*; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000209:etiology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004147:Dioxins / Q000032:analysis*; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007306:Insecticides / Q000032:analysis*; D008055:Lipids / Q000737:chemistry; D008408:Mastectomy; D008875:Middle Aged; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls / Q000032:analysis*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012016:Reference Values; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012995:Solubility
D004147:Dioxins; D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D007306:Insecticides; D008055:Lipids; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls