Estrogen is a sexy hormone. Produced primarily in a woman’s ovaries, the chemical messenger courses through the bloodstream performing a multitude of tasks, most notably the development of breasts in females.

When an estrogen compound reaches the surface of a cell found in breast tissue, it binds to that surface, triggering a set of chemical reactions telling the cell to divide in two, which grows the tissue.

But if chemical imposters arrive in large doses at the surfaces of these cells, particularly cancerous cells, the process can spiral out of control, increasing the risk of breast cancer. These chemical imposters are known as environmental estrogens, and reducing our exposure to these chemicals, researchers maintain, may reduce one’s risk of breast cancer.

Cornell’s Breast Cancer and Environmental Risk Factors program represents a large association in Cornell University compiling innovative research and information each day to further the understanding of cancer risks like environmental estrogens.

Suzanne Snedeker ’78, associate director of translational research at BCERF, is charged with converting often scattered, technical scientific research into compiled literature for the scientific and medical communities and vital information and tools for the general public.

With previous studies in nutrition and the study of how metals are absorbed by the body, her interests broadened into heavy metal toxicology during her post-doctoral work.

Suzanne Snedeker, by Chris BentleySnedeker did not originally think of pursuing work with breast cancer and environmental risk factors. In fact, she encountered breast cancer research by accident, while investigating lead toxicity and the kidney. The friendly researchers next door were doing work with breast cancer, comparing reproductive tissues and factors and their effect on cancer. Before long, Snedeker found herself drawn in to their work, making sense of the science behind breast cancer and environmental risk factors.

For proper cell duplication, a few mandatory steps occur in succession. When estrogen nears the cells, it binds with receptors scattered all over the cell surface. This binding in turn signals through genes for cells to divide. Under normal circumstances, this process would result in multiple copies of the same cell. However, when a cell makes a mistake and divides into a non-identical entity, there is a mutation. These mutations are the start of cancer and these cells grow nonstop.

“These cells are like cars with no brakes on, with no way to turn things off,” Snedeker described.

Receptors are generally thought of as a lock and key, but the cell receptors that react and bind with natural estrogen are “locks” with multiple “keys.” Snedeker said a receptor that reacts to many chemicals in this way is “promiscuous. I like to call it the lady of the evening,” she mused.

Many chemicals can jiggle into the reactive site on these receptors and consequently trigger the estrogen dependent cell division process. Such chemicals and compounds in the environment that mimic natural estrogen’s effects by reacting to the nonexclusive estrogen receptors are termed environmental estrogens. After these environmental estrogens enter the body, they react with the receptors, and signal for cell division. As the breast cells divide, the chances of mutation increase. With more mutations, the risk for breast cancer increases. Researchers believe roughly 70 percent of breast cancer is not caused by genetics, suggesting environmental factors like these “estrogens” play a large role in the onset of this disease.

“95 percent of Americans are exposed,” explained Snedeker. “The exposure is ubiquitous.” Although environmental estrogens are usually consumed in small portions, these minimal amounts accumulate. A study indicates that low levels and mixtures of environmental estrogens combine to give way to a natural estrogenic effect.

Environmental estrogens occur in many common chemical products ubiquitous among college students. These include plastics with recycling number 7 (including Nalgenes), certain cosmetics, certain laundry detergents and electronics containing heavy metals like cadmium, nickel and lead.

Despite the fact that 80 percent of breast cancer presents itself after 50 years of age, “changes occur throughout our life; it’s best to adapt the best practices early in life,” Snedeker said. To that effect, Snedeker and BCERF have produced many YouTube videos and multimedia content targeted for young women.

In addition to the myriad literature, websites and multimedia resources Snedeker has created, she has also serves on federal and state advisory panels, providing expertise in cancer, environmental factors, and toxicology. “I was on a task force looking at flame retardant chemicals,” she recalled. “What were the health effects and what were the alternatives?”

Snedeker acknowledges that important scientific information often gets lost in between the laboratory and the public sphere. “That’s one of the things our program is trying to bridge — what translational research is trying to fix,” she explained. “We make sense out of the science, and then get it into programming for the target groups we’re trying to reach.”