New research appears to confirm that certain occupations increase the risk of breast cancer.

Breast cancer is currently the most commonly diagnosed type of cancer among women living in industrialised countries. some 2,000 new cases of the disease are diagnosed in Ireland annually.

According to Canadian scientists, potentially dangerous chemicals and carcinogens (cancer causing agents) are already present in many working envrionments. They set out to investigate any connections between breast cancer and certain occupations, particularly in the farming and manufacturing industries.

They looked at over 1,000 women with breast cancer and more than 1,100 women without the disease. Details on the women's disease progression and occupations were gathered and assessed.

The study found that women working in jobs with potentially high exposure to carcinogens or chemicals known to disrupt the endocrine system had an increased risk of developing breast cancer.

The sectors which appeared to have an increased risk included agriculture, car plastics manufacturing, food canning and metalwork.

Among pre-menopausal women, the risk of breast cancer was highest among those working in food canning and car plastics manufacturing.

"Our results highlight the importance of occupational studies in identifying and quantifying environmental risk factors and illustrates the value of taking detailed occupational histories of cancer patients," the scientists said.

Details of these findings are published in the journal, Environmental Health.