Molecular Mechanisms of Endocrine-Disrupting Chemical–Induced Breast Carcinogenesis: Insights from Cellular, Animal, and Multi-Omics Studies

Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed malignancy in women across the world, with environmental factors accounting for about 90-95% of all cancers. Toxicants in the environment, including endocrine-disrupting chemicals prevalent in contemporary environments through plastics, pesticides, and personal care products, as well as industrial pollutants, have become significant factors in breast carcinogenesis. Such exogenous compounds imitate or inhibit natural hormones, which cause deviant cellular responses that favour malignant transformation. This is a systematic review of the molecular pathways of EDC-induced breast cancer surrounding the synthesis of the cellular research, animal models, and multi-omics tools.

The review summarises existing research that shows that EDCs have carcinogenic effects that occur via hormone receptor-mediated mechanisms, epigenetic alterations, induction of oxidative stress, and cell cycle regulation. Critical developmental windows of high susceptibility have been identified in animal models with transgenerational effects of cancer risk across generations. Omics technologies, such as genomics, transcriptomics, epigenomics, proteomics, and metabolomics, have uncovered comprehensive molecular indicators of EDC activity and discovered major signalling pathways and possible biomarkers. These mechanisms are vital in understanding preventive proxies, regulatory policies, and therapeutic interventions with the aim of dealing with this avoidable environmental risk factor.