Endocrine-Disrupting Compounds and Mammary Gland Development: Early Exposure and Later Life Consequences. Endocrinology. 147 S18–S24 doi

Breast cancer is the most common non-skin cancer among women in this country. Breast cancer risk is significantly influ-encedbygenetics, butover70%of thewomenthatarediagnosed have noninherited or sporadic cancer. The risk of breast can-cer is thought to be modified by lifestyle and environment. Exposures to certain chemicals and hormone-mimicking or endocrine-disrupting compounds (EDCs) are suspected of contributing to increased breast cancer incidence as well as precocious puberty in the United States. Studies of EDC ef-fects in rodents indicate that multiple toxicants can alter mammary gland development, with or without changing other markers of puberty. EDCs can cause transient and per-sistent effects onmammary gland development depending on dose, exposureparameters, andwhether exposurewasduring critical periods of gland growth or differentiation. Advers