Background Information

Breast cancer is a complex disease, resulting from both genomic and environmental influences. In 2002, in order to address the interaction of these factors on disease development, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) convened a Brainstorming Workshop of expert researchers, clinicians, and advocates to identify data gaps, bottlenecks and research needs. The major cross-cutting recommendation was to promote research that would characterize environmental exposures over the lifetime that could alter the risk of breast cancer development. To address these issues, the NIEHS and the National Cancer Institute (NCI) established the Breast Cancer and the Environment Research Centers (BCERC) Network in 2003. It was created to study the impact of prepubertal exposures that may affect pubertal development and predispose a woman to breast cancer. Pubertal development is one period of the lifespan considered to be a “window of susceptibility,” where individuals may be more susceptible to environment exposures (chemicals, diet, social factors). The BCERC program will span seven years with annual funding levels of $5 million, for a total commitment of $35 million.