Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41802041›Full record

ArticleProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America2026

Elevated phthalate exposure and metabolic susceptibility increased breast cancer risk: A 20-y follow-up study in Taiwan.

Hui-Chi Chen, San-Lin You, Ching-Hung Lin, Chien-Wen Sun, Chun-Ju Chiang, Hwai-I Yang, Li-Yu Wang, Chien-An Sun, Jessica Liu, Chin-Lan Jen and 6 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

16 authors.

Hui-Chi Chen *Division of Medical Biology, Genomics Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei 11529, Taiwan.
San-Lin You *Division of Medical Biology, Genomics Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei 11529, Taiwan.
Ching-Hung Lin *Department of Medical Oncology, National Taiwan University Hospital, Cancer Center Branch, Taipei 10672, Taiwan.
Chien-Wen SunNational Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Health Research Institutes, Miaoli 35053, Taiwan.
Chun-Ju ChiangGraduate Institute of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, College of Public Health, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10055, Taiwan.
Hwai-I YangDivision of Medical Biology, Genomics Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei 11529, Taiwan.ORCID 0000-0002-3433-942X
Li-Yu WangDepartment of Medicine, Mackay Medical University, New Taipei 25245, Taiwan.
Chien-An SunDepartment of Public Health, College of Medicine, Fu-Jen Catholic University, New Taipei 24205, Taiwan.
Jessica LiuDivision of Medical Biology, Genomics Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei 11529, Taiwan.
Chin-Lan JenDivision of Medical Biology, Genomics Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei 11529, Taiwan.
Yuh-An ChenInstitute of Population Health Sciences, National Health Research Institutes, Miaoli 35053, Taiwan.
Yen-Shen LuDepartment of Medical Oncology, National Taiwan University Hospital, Cancer Center Branch, Taipei 10672, Taiwan.
Ann-Lii ChengDepartment of Medical Oncology, National Taiwan University Hospital, Cancer Center Branch, Taipei 10672, Taiwan.
Shu-Li WangNational Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Health Research Institutes, Miaoli 35053, Taiwan.
Chao A HsiungInstitute of Population Health Sciences, National Health Research Institutes, Miaoli 35053, Taiwan.
Chien-Jen ChenDivision of Medical Biology, Genomics Research Center, Academia Sinica, Taipei 11529, Taiwan.

Funding

Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) MOST 103-2314-B-001-005-MY3National Health Research Institutes (NHRI) EH-102-SP-01 EH-103-SP-01 and EM-111-PP-05
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Widely used phthalates, especially di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), increase breast cancer risk in experimental animals and humans, but long-term follow-up evidence of its human breast carcinogenicity remains inconclusive. This nested case-control study included 119 invasive breast cancer cases and 245 matched controls from a longitudinal cohort of 11,923 women recruited in 1991-1992 and followed to 2010 in Taiwan. Urine samples at baseline and follow-up visit were tested for 11 metabolites of seven phthalates using LC-ESI-MS/MS. DEHP metabolism susceptibility was evaluated by the percentage of mono-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (MEHP%) in the sum of five DEHP metabolites (∑DEHP). Odds ratios (ORs) with 95% CI from conditional logistic regression were used to examine risk predictors. DEHP was the only phthalate significantly associated with breast cancer risk. Risk increased significantly with elevated urinary levels of ∑DEHP (> 0.381 μmol/g creatinine, OR = 1.71, 95% CI = 1.02 to 2.43), MEHP (> 0.022 μmol/g creatinine, OR = 1.87, 95% CI = 1.07 to 3.25), and MEHP% (> 6.7%, OR = 1.65, 95% CI = 0.96 to 2.82). Elevated ∑DEHP and MEHP% combined with early menarche (≤ 14 years) was associated with further increased risk (OR = 7.52, 95% CI = 2.68 to 21.05). The intraclass correlation coefficient between paired baseline and follow-up samples of 152 women was 0.06 for ∑DEHP and 0.31 for MEHP%. High DEHP exposure, high MEHP%, and early menarche were associated with increased breast cancer risk. MEHP% was a better biomarker for DEHP metabolism.

Indexed as

Breast NeoplasmsDiethylhexyl PhthalateEnvironmental ExposurePhthalic AcidsAdultCase-Control StudiesFemaleFollow-Up StudiesHumansLongitudinal StudiesMiddle AgedRisk FactorsTaiwanDiethylhexyl Phthalatemono-(2-ethylhexyl)phthalatephthalic acidPhthalic Acidsbreast cancerDEHPfollow-up studyMEHP%metabolic susceptibility

Identifiers

PMID41802041
PMCPMC12994206

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.