Pregnancy Exposures Determine Risk of Breast Cancer in Multiple Generations of Offspring

Zhenzhen Zhang, Shaowei Chen, Zhuang Feng, L. Joseph Su

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapter

Abstract

Breast cancer is the most common non-skin cancer in women in the United States. The incidence rate of breast cancer among migrant women from Asian countries, where the breast cancer incidence is low, could achieve the rate of the United States within two generations. Maternal exposures to various environmental factors during pregnancy have been hypothesized to be associated with offsprings’ breast cancer risk. These exposures may change various carcinogenesis-related hormone levels and alter the epigenome among offsprings, which increase their breast cancer risk in later life. The effect of maternal pregnancy exposures on offsprings’ breast cancer via epigenetic modifications could be carried out through multiple generations of offspring. In this chapter, we aim to summarize findings from both experimental and epidemiological studies investigating associations between maternal pregnancy exposures and offspring’s breast cancer risk.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publicationMolecular and Integrative Toxicology
PublisherSpringer Science+Business Media B.V.
Pages75-103
Number of pages29
DOIs
StatePublished - 2015

Publication series

NameMolecular and Integrative Toxicology
ISSN (Print)2168-4219
ISSN (Electronic)2168-4235

Keywords

  • Breast cancer
  • Offspring
  • Pregnancy

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Drug Discovery
  • Pharmacology (medical)
  • Immunology and Allergy
  • Toxicology

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Pregnancy Exposures Determine Risk of Breast Cancer in Multiple Generations of Offspring'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this