title: Urinary strontium and the risk of breast cancer: a case-control study in Guangzhou, China.
abstract: Strontium has been widely used in industries like electronic and pharmacy. It has a carcinogenic potential, however, and no study has been conducted to evaluate its effects on cancer risk. The aim of this study was to explore the possible association between strontium and breast cancer risk in a case-control study including 240 incident invasive breast cancer patients and 246 age-matched controls. We measured the urinary concentrations of strontium by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, and conducted face-to-face interviews to obtain information on potential breast cancer risk factors. Multivariable analysis was used to estimate the association. Creatinine-adjusted levels [median (25th, 75th) μg/g] of strontium were 155.59 (99.05, 230.70) in the breast cancer patients and 119.62 (81.97, 163.76) in the controls. Women in the highest tertile of strontium showed 124% increased risk of breast cancer, when compared with those in the lowest tertile after adjustment for the potential risk factors [OR (95% CI): 2.24 (1.42-3.81)]. This association was particularly strong for HER2 positive breast cancer [OR (95% CI): 10.92 (3.53-33.77)], and only occurred among premenopausal women. These results suggest a potential role of strontium in the development of breast cancer and urge further studies on the environmental contamination and the physiological and pathological mechanisms of strontium.
authors.affiliation: The School of Public Health, Sun Yat-sen University, 74 Zhongshan 2nd Rd, Guangzhou 510080, China.
authors.forename: Li-Juan
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Lu-Ying
authors.initials: LY
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.forename: Jian-Rong
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: He
authors.forename: Yi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Su
authors.forename: Yu-Ling
authors.initials: YL
authors.lastname: Cen
authors.forename: Dan-Dan
authors.initials: DD
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Bang-Hua
authors.initials: BH
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Wei-Qing
authors.initials: WQ
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Er-Wei
authors.initials: EW
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: Ze-Fang
authors.initials: ZF
authors.lastname: Ren
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000652:urine*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000652:urine*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D012306:Risk; D013054:Spectrophotometry, Atomic; D013324:Strontium / Q000652:urine*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
chemical_list: D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D013324:Strontium