Mosquito control exposures and breast cancer risk: analysis of 1071 cases and 2096 controls from the Ghana Breast Health Study

Epidemiologic data on insecticide exposures and breast cancer risk are inconclusive and mostly from high-income countries.

Using data from 1071 invasive pathologically confirmed breast cancer cases and 2096 controls from the Ghana Breast Health Study conducted from 2013 to 2015, we investigated associations with mosquito control products to reduce the spread of mosquito-borne diseases, such as malaria.

These mosquito control products were insecticide-treated nets, mosquito coils, repellent room sprays, and skin creams for personal protection against mosquitos.

Multivariable and polytomous logistic regression models were used to estimate odds ratios (OR(adj)) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) with breast cancer risk-adjusted for potential confounders and known risk factors.

Among controls, the reported use of mosquito control products were mosquito coils (65%), followed by insecticide-treated nets (56%), repellent room sprays (53%), and repellent skin creams (15%).

Compared to a referent group of participants unexposed to mosquito control products, there was no significant association between breast cancer risk and mosquito coils.

There was an association in breast cancer risk with reported use of insecticide-treated nets; however, that association was weak and not statistically significant.

Participants who reported using repellent sprays were at elevated risks compared to women who did not use any mosquito control products, even after adjustment for all other mosquito control products (OR = 1.42, 95% CI=1.15–1.75).

We had limited power to detect an association with repellent skin creams.

Although only a few participants reported using repellent room sprays weekly/daily or < month-monthly, no trends were evident with increased frequency of use of repellent sprays, and there was no statistical evidence of heterogeneity by estrogen receptor (ER) status (p-het > 0.25).

Our analysis was limited when determining if an association existed with repellent skin creams; therefore, we cannot conclude an association.

We found limited evidence of risk associations with widely used mosquito coils and insecticide-treated nets, which are reassuring given their importance for malaria prevention.

Our findings regarding specific breast cancer risk associations, specifically those observed between repellent sprays, require further study.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13058-023-01737-x.