Breast Cancer in California Teachers- Regional Variations
Creators: name: University Of California Office Of The President
Publisher: name: University of California Office of the President
publisherIdentifier: https://ror.org/00dmfq477
publisherIdentifierScheme: ROR
Year: 2024

description: Regional variations in breast cancer incidence have traditionally been a source of public health concern. These variations have also served to generate many hypotheses about factors which might cause breast cancer. Breast cancer rates in the San Francisco Bay Area have been recently touted as "the highest in the world." This distinction is consistent with the observation of higher rates in this area over the last several decades, as well as with generally higher breast cancer morbidity and mortality rates in urban areas. Rate differences observed on the national scale are similar to rate differences seen within California.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Geographic variations in breast cancer incidence, while well-recognized, are not well understood. Most studies aimed at investigating geographic patterns of breast cancer have relied on data at the population-level with no individual-level data on personal risk factors. The study proposed here is designed to build on a rich repertoire of information available on individual women participating in the California Teachers Study (CTS). Comprised of over 133,000 active and retired female California school employees, the CTS is one of the largest studies implemented to date specifically designed to study personal risk factors for breast cancer. With study participants residing in all corners of the state, and with patterns of breast cancer incidence mirroring those seen at the state and national level, the CTS offers a unique opportunity to use individual-level data in exploring geographic patterns of breast cancer incidence. The primary goal of this study is to determine the degree to which established and suspected risk factors explain the observed geographic patterns of breast cancer incidence within the California Teachers Study (CTS) cohort.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 The specific aims of this study are to:
 
 
 
 -Describe the regional distribution of breast cancer incidence among members of the CTS cohort. 
 
 -Describe the regional distributions of personal and ‘neighborhood’ risk factors among members of the CTS cohort. 
 
 -Evaluate whether the regional patterns of breast cancer incidence in the CTS cohort persist after accounting for regional differences in personal and neighborhood risk factors. 
 
 
 
 The extensive information gathered by the CTS surveys will allow us to examine the role of a myriad of established and suspected personal risk factors among the CTS members including: reproductive factors, family history, physical activity, hormonal exposures, and dietary &amp; other ‘lifestyle’ factors. Current and historic place of residence as reported in the CTS data will be used in conjunction with statewide census and environmental monitoring data to evaluate the additional contribution of social factors and environmental exposures in explaining regional patterns of breast cancer incidence. Together these resources offer information on both traditionally-accepted and newly-postulated risk factors which when jointly evaluated may provide helpful new insights into geographic patterns in breast cancer incidence and ultimately into the causes of breast cancer.