Dietary Cadmium Raises Breast Cancer Risk, According To Study

Dietary Cadmium Raises Breast Cancer Risk, According To Study

According to a study published in Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, cadmium intake is correlated with breast cancer. Researchers believe that exposure to cadmium increases the risk of developing breast cancer.

Cadmium, a metal found in the environment, can have toxic effects when the intake exceed certain concentrations in humans. In its organic form, cadmium is found in food, water and air. Normal intake of cadmium is of 20-200 micrograms per day. Toxic effects of cadmium depends on the route of exposure. Cadmium that reaches the body through inhalation may lead in a first phase,  to fever, headache, nausea, vomiting, nasopharyngeal irritation, and  then cough, dyspnea, chemical pneumonitis and acute pulmonary edema if the exposure is massive. A chronic exposure to inhaled particles of cadmium can cause emphysema.

In principle, chronic exposure to inhaled or ingested cadmium can cause kidney damage, that is the appearance of tubular proteinuria and impaired ability to concentrate urine. Also, another effect of chronic exposure to cadmium is impaired bone metabolism with osteomalacia  and spontaneous fractures.

Carcinogenic effect of cadmium is much discussed. Recent research reveals that this metal may increase the risk of breast cancer. Researchers associated this metal with the risk of cancer, especially because cadmium accumulates in cereals, potatoes and other vegetables. Agneta Ã…kesson, Ph.D., associate professor at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, points out that the sources of cadmium intake are bread, potatoes, cereals, shellfish and root vegetables. In recent years, the concentration of cadmium increased significantly due to increased use of this metal in fertilizers.It is important to underline  that once accumulated in the body, cadmium is difficult to eliminate.

Cadmium

The study had a sample of 55,987 women followed for more than 12 years. Exposure to cadmium was evaluated using a questionnaire completed by patients. During the follow-up period, researchers found 2,112 cases of breast cancer of which 1626 were estrogen-positive cancers, so hormone-dependent, and 290 estrogen-negative breast cancer cases.

The researchers divided the patients into three groups: those with high exposure to cadmium, medium exposure and minimum exposure. It was found that in patients with high exposure, the risk of breast cancer was higher by 21%. Regarding cases of estrogen positive and estrogen negative, the risk was the same, that is 23%. Researchers also found that women who consumed whole grains had a lower risk of developing breast cancer.

Dr Ã…kesson said it is possible that a healthy diet to counteract the harmful effects of cadmium, but this should be confirmed by other studies.