title: Recent advances on the stimulatory effects of metals in breast cancer.
abstract: Certain environmental chemicals may accumulate in human serum and tissues eliciting estrogenic and/or carcinogenic effects. Therefore, there is heightened interest in determining whether environmental chemicals may increase the risk for endocrine-related tumors like breast cancer. For instance, metals as cadmium, zinc, copper, iron, nickel and aluminum have been shown to mimic estrogen action. Moreover, the exposure to these chemicals has been reported to stimulate diverse malignancies including breast cancer, which is the most common tumor in women worldwide. In this review, we summarize the epidemiologic and experimental evidence regarding the association between the exposure to some trace elements and breast cancer risk. We also address recent insights on the molecular mechanisms involved by metals in breast tumorigenesis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy, Health and Nutritional Sciences, University of Calabria, Rende, Italy. Electronic address: lappanorosamaria@yahoo.it.
authors.forename: Rosamaria
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lappano
authors.affiliation: Endocrinology, Department of Health Sciences, University Magna Graecia of Catanzaro, Catanzaro, Italy.
authors.forename: Roberta
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Malaguarnera
authors.affiliation: Endocrinology, Department of Health Sciences, University Magna Graecia of Catanzaro, Catanzaro, Italy.
authors.forename: Antonino
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Belfiore
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy, Health and Nutritional Sciences, University of Calabria, Rende, Italy.
authors.forename: Marcello
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Maggiolini
mesh_terms: D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000473:pathology*; D004967:Estrogens / Q000009:adverse effects; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008670:Metals / Q000633:toxicity*; D008954:Models, Biological; D012307:Risk Factors
chemical_list: D004967:Estrogens; D008670:Metals
keywords: Breast cancer; Estrogen receptors; Metals; Signal transduction