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Lead Exposure: A Contributing Cause of the Current Breast Cancer Epidemic in Nigerian Women

Overview of attention for article published in Biological Trace Element Research, March 2010
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About this Attention Score

  • In the top 25% of all research outputs scored by Altmetric
  • Good Attention Score compared to outputs of the same age (78th percentile)
  • Above-average Attention Score compared to outputs of the same age and source (58th percentile)

Mentioned by

policy
1 policy source
twitter
3 X users
peer_reviews
1 peer review site

Citations

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84 Dimensions

Readers on

mendeley
127 Mendeley
Title
Lead Exposure: A Contributing Cause of the Current Breast Cancer Epidemic in Nigerian Women
Published in
Biological Trace Element Research, March 2010
DOI 10.1007/s12011-010-8608-2
Pubmed ID
Authors

Olusegun I. Alatise, Gerhard N. Schrauzer

Abstract

Breast cancer incidence in Nigerian women has significantly increased during the past three decades in parallel with the rapid industrialization of that country. This suggested that the associated widespread contamination of the soil and of the water supplies by lead (Pb) and other industrial metals was a major contributing cause. Because of its many domestic, industrial, and automotive uses, Pb is of particular concern as it has been shown to promote the development of mammary tumors in murine mammary tumor virus-infected female C3H mice at levels as low of 0.5 ppm Pb in the drinking water. Lead belongs to the group of selenium-antagonistic elements that interact with selenium (Se), abolishing its anti-carcinogenic effect. Lead on chronic, low-level exposure in addition also accelerates tumor growth rates. Higher levels of Pb were found in blood and head hair samples of newly diagnosed patients with breast cancer, all with infiltrating ductal carcinoma, the most common form of breast cancer in Nigeria, seen at Obafemi Awolowo University, than in cancer-free controls from the same area. Evidence for interactions between Pb and Se was obtained from blood, hair, and tumor biopsy tissue analyses. Furthermore, the Pb levels in hair samples of the patients were directly correlated with the volumes of their tumors, in accord with the tumor growth-promoting effects of Pb. Conversely, Se levels in hair and blood were inversely correlated with the tumor volumes, consistent with the anti-proliferative effects of Se. Several other elements, e.g., Cd, Hg, Cr, Sn, and As, were detected in the scalp hair of the patients and the controls, although at significantly lower levels than those of Pb. However, correlation calculations revealed them also to interact with Se, suggesting that only a fraction of the Se in organs and tissues is actually present in bioactive forms. In metal-exposed subjects, a state of latent Se deficiency may exist, resulting in depressed immune functions and increased cancer susceptibility. Evidence is presented to show that Pb and other metals also interact with iodine, another vitally important essential trace element believed to protect against breast cancer development. Public health programs aiming at lowering the breast cancer risk of Nigerian women thus will have to include effective measures to protect the population from exposures to Pb and other industrial metals that are presently contaminating the environment and the water supplies.

X Demographics

X Demographics

The data shown below were collected from the profiles of 3 X users who shared this research output. Click here to find out more about how the information was compiled.
Mendeley readers

Mendeley readers

The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 127 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.

Geographical breakdown

Country Count As %
United Kingdom 1 <1%
Spain 1 <1%
United States 1 <1%
India 1 <1%
Unknown 123 97%

Demographic breakdown

Readers by professional status Count As %
Student > Ph. D. Student 23 18%
Researcher 22 17%
Student > Master 15 12%
Student > Bachelor 12 9%
Student > Doctoral Student 10 8%
Other 22 17%
Unknown 23 18%
Readers by discipline Count As %
Medicine and Dentistry 28 22%
Agricultural and Biological Sciences 16 13%
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology 9 7%
Environmental Science 9 7%
Nursing and Health Professions 5 4%
Other 27 21%
Unknown 33 26%
Attention Score in Context

Attention Score in Context

This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 7. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 11 January 2024.
All research outputs
#5,197,291
of 25,286,324 outputs
Outputs from Biological Trace Element Research
#316
of 2,273 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#21,242
of 100,146 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Biological Trace Element Research
#6
of 12 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 25,286,324 research outputs across all sources so far. Compared to these this one has done well and is in the 79th percentile: it's in the top 25% of all research outputs ever tracked by Altmetric.
So far Altmetric has tracked 2,273 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a little more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 5.4. This one has done well, scoring higher than 85% of its peers.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 100,146 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one has done well, scoring higher than 78% of its contemporaries.
We're also able to compare this research output to 12 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one has gotten more attention than average, scoring higher than 58% of its contemporaries.