Breast Cancer Risk

The study's results suggest that there are distinct and separate hormonal risk factors associated with different subtypes of breast cancer. Amanda Phipps, a predoctoral research associate at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, and her colleagues conducted a study to better understand the specific risk factors for the subtypes of breast cancer, which are classified by expression of the estrogen receptor, the progesterone receptor, and the HER2 receptor. The investigators found that reproductive risk factors varied considerably by breast cancer subtype. Breastfeeding for 6 months or longer was associated with a lower risk of luminal cancer as well as triple-negative cancer, a type that can be particularly aggressive and difficult to treat. Both late age at menopause and use of estrogen plus progestin hormone therapy were associated with an increased risk of luminal disease. Finally, no differences in risks associated with number of children or the age when a woman first gave birth were observed by subtype. The study authors concluded that their results indicate that "certain reproductive factors may have a greater impact on risk of certain molecular subtypes of disease compared to others. Despite having a high risk of early recurrence, the study indicates that triple-negative breast cancer patients who remain disease-free for eight years are unlikely to die of breast cancer and may be "cured" of their disease. Insulin resistance, hyperinsulinemia, and changes in the signaling of growth hormones and steroid hormones associated with diabetes may affect the risk of breast cancer. Despite many proposed potential pathways, the mechanisms underlying an association between diabetes and breast cancer risk remain unclear, particularly because the 2 diseases share several risk factors, including obesity, a sedentary lifestyle, and possibly intake of saturated fat and refined carbohydrates, that may confound this association. Although the metabolic syndrome is closely related to diabetes and embraces additional components that might influence breast cancer risk, the role of the metabolic syndrome in breast carcinogenesis has not been studied and thus remains unknown.

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