The scientific research community has long believed
that there are environmental causes underpinning breast cancer in women and in a growing number of men.
Scientists know that breast cancer is associated with exposure to natural estrogens and other hormones. They have discovered that certain chemicals found in common household products can mimic estrogens.
More than 100 of these have been shown to make breast cancer cells grow in a laboratory setting. Carcinogenic compounds such as diesel fuel, PBA grilled meat and smoked food, are among the known toxins.
Now prevalent among younger women, the epidemic is growing rapidly and must be stamped out. The Art beCAUSE Breast Cancer Foundation is committed to making ours the last generation to suffer this way.
The Art beCAUSE Breast Cancer Foundation established their "Seed the Scientist" program in 2006 to help scientists who had a cutting edge idea about the environment and breast cancer and needed some seed money to establish their idea or to continue with a new idea in the context of their ongoing project.
We are supported by a growing number of donors and volunteers who recognize the urgency to terminate this disease.
Our grant winners over the past years are:
- 2012: Elizabeth Stanford: Boston University School of Public Health
- 2011: Dr. Lucia Speroni: Postdoctoral Fellow, Tufts University
- 2010: Dr. Robin Dodson: Silent Spring Institute
- 2009: Perinnaaz Wadia: Tufts University School of Medicine
- 2008: Betina Lew: University of Rochester
- 2006/2007: Dr. Xinhai Yang / Supraja Narasimhan:
Boston University School Of Medicine - 2005: Jane Chase: Silent Spring Institute
Progress Report, 2008 Grant
Later this month, I will be participating in the Gordon Research Conference – Mammary Gland Biology that will take place on June 14-19, 2009 at Salve Regina University, Newport, RI. This conference will be a great opportunity to learn more about mammary stem cell biology and breast cancer. Betina J. Lew
Research Update, 2007
"The Role of an Environmental Chemical Receptor, the Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor, in Breast Cancer Cell Growth and Invasion" Supraja Narasimhan
A substantial and growing body of data indicate that exposure to certain environmental chemicals contributes to the development of breast cancer.
Research Update, 2007 Grant
The AHR is well known for regulating responses to an array of environmental chemicals. A growing body of evidence supports the hypothesis that the AHR also plays perhaps an even more important role in modulating critical aspects of cell function including cell growth, death, and migration.
Research Update, 2006 Grant
The Role of an Environmental Chemical Receptor, the Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor, in Breast Cancer Cell Survival
The age-adjusted incidence of breast cancer in the U.S. increased ~1% per year between 1940 and 1990 such that breast cancer is now the leading cause of cancer death among U.S. women aged 20 to 59.
