Breast cancer is not simply a lifestyle and genetic disease but can be the result of environmental factors, noticeably exposure to chemicals, says a report published last week.

Commissioned by the Health and Environment Alliance, a European network of non-governmental organisations, and the Chem Trust, the report coordinates the findings of several international research projects between 2002 and 2007 on chemicals that disrupt the endocrine system.

Commenting on the results, the author, Andreas Kortenkamp, the head of the centre for toxicology at London University’s school of pharmacy, said, “Good laboratory and epidemiological evidence exists suggesting that manmade chemicals that …