By Amy Westervelt, Contributor A report out this morning by the Interagency Breast Cancer and Environmental Research Coordinating Committee (IBCERCC) highlights the need for increased funding and research of the various chemical and physical factors that may contribute to breast cancer, as well as the potential for cancer prevention, not just diagnosis and treatment to decrease both the incidence of cancer and healthcare costs. This is the third federal cancer panel report to highlight the unrealized potential for cancer prevention. “Historically, investments in breast cancer research have focused primarily on diagnosis and cure,” the report reads. “Comparatively speaking, there are remarkably few examples of advances in the area of breast cancer prevention, and finding ways to identify and mitigate the environmental causes of the disease has not been a priority. At the federal level, only a small number of efforts target breast cancer and the environment. The Committee notes that, at most, 10 to 11 percent of breast cancer research projects funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) focus on environmental health. No other federal agency supports substantial research on the environmental causes of breast cancer. Other federal agencies and nongovernmental organizations, however, support and conduct research related to breast cancer and the environment and are important partners in any effort to prevent breast cancer. Breast cancer prevention is underfunded at the federal level in both research and public health programs, and future investments must focus on this area. Enhanced investments would facilitate sustained coordination across research and regulatory agencies with the objective of reducing or eliminating harmful environmental exposures and modifying social and lifestyle factors implicated in breast cancer.” Authored by federal members of the IBCERCC from agencies involved in research on breast cancer and the environment, including the NIEHS, NCI, EPA, the DoD, and the CDC; non-federal members from scientific and clinical communities; and non-federal members who represent individuals with breast cancer, the report brings together all of the federal agencies with the power to shift attention and funding toward prevention. …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Forbes Latest