유방암과 전자파, 상관관계 없음 밝혀 > 과학기술칼럼

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유방암과 전자파, 상관관계 없음 밝혀

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김덕양 작성일2003-06-26 12:14

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미국 스토니브룩 대학 예방의학과 크리스티나 레스키 교수(Cristina Leske, http://www.rfsuny.org/Science_Engineering_Medicine_Honorees/Leske.htm)는 미국 롱아일랜드 지역의 높은 유방암 발병률을 설명하기 위해 전자파가 유방암에 미치는 영향을 조사한 결과, 전자파와 유방암은 서로 상관관계가 없음이 밝혀졌다고 25일 오전(미국 동부시각) 발표했다.

이 연구는 전자파가 에스트로겐과 관계된 멜라토닌 호르몬의 생산을 방해할지도 모른다는 가정 하에 96년부터 시작되었다. 레스키 박사는 전자파 장기노출의 효과를 알아보기 위해 현재 살고 있는 집에 15년 이상 거주한 총 1,161명의 여성(유방암 발병자 576명와 비발병자 585명)을 대상으로, 그들이 주로 사용하는 방들의 전자파 수준과 집주변의 전력송출선 위치 등을 조사했으나 정작 전자파와 유방암의 상관관계를 찾아낼 수 없었다고 한다. 이번 연구결과는 미국 유행병학 잡지(American Journal of Epidemiology) 최신호에 실릴 예정이다. 출처: AP 통신 06/25/2003


Power Line-Breast Cancer Link Questioned
Wed Jun 25, 8:09 AM ET

By FRANK ELTMAN, Associated Press Writer

GARDEN CITY, N.Y. - A study that sought to explain the high rate of breast cancer on Long Island found no evidence to support fears that living near power lines causes the disease.

Researchers called the findings reassuring and said the study suggested they could rule out electromagnetic fields and focus on other risk factors for breast cancer, which strikes 200,000 women each year in the United States.

"All around, it is good news," said Dr. M. Cristina Leske, the lead researcher on the study, which is to be announced Wednesday and will appear in the July 1 issue of the American Journal of Epidemiology.

Exposure to invisible electromagnetic fields is nearly unavoidable in today's society. They are created wherever electricity is generated or used — near power lines and wiring, electrical equipment and appliances.

Stony Brook University launched the study in 1996, after earlier studies indicated a possible connection between electromagnetic fields and cancer. Researchers believed at the time that the fields might hamper production of the estrogen-related hormone melatonin.

The study examined 1,161 women on Long Island — 576 who had breast cancer and 585 who did not. Researchers took spot and 24-hour measurements of magnetic fields in often-used rooms in their houses, such as bedrooms and living rooms, and the study mapped the power lines surrounding each home.

They found no association between exposure to electromagnetic fields and breast cancer.

A previous study conducted in Seattle reached the same conclusion. But Stony Brook researchers included only women who had lived in their current home for 15 years — a better measure of the risk of long-term exposure.

The annual breast cancer case rate is about 115 per 100,000 women in Nassau County and about 118 per 100,000 in Suffolk County — the two counties that make up Long Island. The national rate is about 104 per 100,000.

Suspicions that environmental factors — even something in the water — are behind "clusters" of high breast cancer rates have led to anti-cancer fund drives and public awareness campaigns.

But some scientists say the clusters have more to do with the people, not their surroundings. Studies have suggested breast cancer is more likely to strike women who have children late in life or take hormone supplements.

Major studies have failed to turn up significant links to environmental factors. A recent $8 million, seven-year National Center Institute study looked for pesticides in the blood and urine of people on Long Island and found no breast cancer link.

Geri Barish, president of One in Nine, a Long Island breast cancer advocacy group, said she was not surprised by the study's findings. But she said further studies should be conducted on the subject.

"I don't think anyone should be satisfied," she said. "I think we need to push on."

More information on the study:

http://epi.grants.cancer.gov/LIBCSP

SOURCE: American Journal of Epidemiology 2003;158:47-58

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