University of Wisconsin researchers have linked high levels of cadmium in the body to a higher risk of breast cancer.
The findings show that the toxic heavy metal may be a factor, but more study is necessary, said Jane McElroy, Ph.D., lead author of the study at the UW Comprehensive Cancer Center.
The study did not prove that cadmium causes breast cancer, she said, but it did show that women with the top 25 percent of cadmium levels had twice the breast cancer risk of women in the lowest 25 percent of cadmium levels.