What is the impact of the environment on breast cancer metastatic progression?

Breast cancer is the 5th leading cause of death in the world with up to 600,000 deaths every year. In earlier stage, breast cancer has a relatively good prognosis; however, in metastatic disease (lymph node involvement and distant metastasis), survival drops drastically. The risk factors for incidence are relatively well known. Conversely, risk factors for metastatic progression remain poorly established. Recent clinical studies and experimental studies suggests that exposure to environmental pollutants may be associated with increased tumor aggressiveness in breast cancer. This review summarizes the current state of knowledge on the role of environmental pollutants in breast cancer aggressiveness.(c) 2023 l'Academie nationale de medecine. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.