The relationship between lead and breast cancer: A systematic review

There is a possibility of more accumulation of environmental pollutants due to lower levels of iron in the body of women. Different results have been reported on the association of lead with breast cancer, therefore, this systematic review study was performed with aim to determine the relationship between lead and breast cancer.

In this review study, to find the related articles, international databases (Web of Science, Embase, Scopus, Google Scholar and PubMed) and national (Irandoc, Magiran, SID and IranMedex) were searched with different keyword combinations related to "Lead" And "Breast Cancer" obtained from MESH in 2000 to 2022. Selection of articles was based on inclusion and exclusion criteria and articles' quality was assessed using the Newcastle Ottawa scale.

Out of 4057 articles reviewed, 13 articles had good quality. All studies were in English and were observational. According to most studies, serum lead levels were not associated with breast cancer, but lead levels in bone and breast tissue were also associated with exposure to lead as an environmental contaminant with breast cancer.

Different ways of exposure to lead have led to different results and it cannot be certainty said that exposure to lead causes breast cancer, while this relationship also depends on the method of measuring lead. In this regard, long-term studies with accurate measurement of environmental lead and body tissues, especially for women at higher risk are recommended.