Smoking During Adolescence Could Increase The Risk Of Breast Cancer (pp 1033, 1044)October 02, 2002Authors of a Canadian study in this week's issue of THE LANCET highlight the varying effects of smoking on the risk of breast cancer-adolescent women who smoke could be at an increased risk of breast cancer later in life compared with non-smokers. One in nine women in the UK have a lifetime risk of breast cancer, with a similar proportion for other developed countries worldwide. Previous research investigating a possible association between smoking and breast cancer has been inconclusive. Using data in a Canadian population in British Columbia, Pierre Band and colleagues from British Columbia Cancer Agency, Vancouver, Canada, compared women with and without breast cancer in terms of their history of smoking, controlling for risk factors known to be associated with breast cancer (such as hormone replacement therapy). Data were analysed separately for premenopausal and postmenopausal women. Over 600 premenopausal and 1400 postmenopausal women with and without breast cancer (women without breast cancer were the control group) replied to an initial survey targeted at around 1500 women with breast cancer and a further 1500 age-matched controls. Women who started smoking within five years of menarche (onset of menstruation) were around 1.7 times (70%) more likely to develop breast cancer than non-smokers. Pierre Band comments: "These results-which suggest that human breast tissue is most sensitive to environmental carcinogens during periods of rapid cell proliferation when differentiation is incomplete (puberty)-add epidemiological evidence to experimental studies, relating susceptibility to carcinogenesis to the biology of breast development. Our observations reinforce the importance of smoking prevention, especially in early adolescence." He adds: "British Columbian women have a premenopausal breast cancer risk of 1 in 55. An increased risk off 70% would lead to an additional 1000 premenopausal breast cancer cases out of 100 000 teenage smokers." `In an accompanying Commentary (p1033), Irma Russo from Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, USA, concludes: "Future epidemiological studies will certainly take advantage of advances in the understanding of the pathogenesis and molecular biology of breast cancer to unravel the role of genetic predisposition, endocrine and reproductive factors, and environmental exposures on the initiation of cancer." Lancet |
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| Related Breast Cancer Current Events and Breast Cancer News Articles Menopause-cardiology consensus statement on cardiovascular disease and on HRT A menopause-cardiology consensus statement has called for direct action to prevent cardiovascular disease (CVD) in menopausal women. The statement also concludes that there is little evidence of increased CVD risk in taking HRT. Researchers Identify Role of Gene in Tumor Development, Growth and Progression Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center and VCU Institute of Molecular Medicine researchers have identified a gene that may play a pivotal role in two processes that are essential for tumor development, growth and progression to metastasis. UCLA researchers create 'fly paper' to capture circulating cancer cells Just as fly paper captures insects, an innovative new device with nano-sized features developed by researchers at UCLA is able to grab cancer cells in the blood that have broken off from a tumor. Fertility procedures need not delay breast cancer treatment for younger women A new study published in the November issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons shows that breast cancer patients under 40 years old who undergo fertility preservation do not face a significant delay in the treatment of their disease when their care is coordinated in a timely fashion. Coffee break: Compound brewing new research in colon, breast cancer A compound in coffee has been found to be estrogenic in studies by Texas AgriLife Research scientists. Drugs to treat anemia in cancer patients linked to thromboembolism Medications frequently given to cancer patients to reduce their risk of anemia are associated with an increased risk of deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism, according to new research led by Dawn Hershman, M.D, M.S., co-director of the breast cancer program at the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center. Discovery in worms by Queen's researchers points to more targeted cancer treatment Researchers at Queen's University have found a link between two genes involved in cancer formation in humans, by examining the genes in worms. The groundbreaking discovery provides a foundation for how tumor-forming genes interact, and may offer a drug target for cancer treatment. FDA approved leukemia drugs shows promise in ovarian cancer cells The drug Sprycel, approved for use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia, significantly inhibited the growth and invasiveness of ovarian cancer cells and also promoted their death, a study by researchers with UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center found. Carnegie Mellon researchers link health-care debate to risk of dying in US and Europe The current health care debate in the United States is complicated. Trade-offs between heath care expenditures, lifestyle choices and life expectancy have been suggested but seldom clearly demonstrated. Scientists uncover new key to the puzzle of hormone therapy and breast cancer The use of postmenopausal hormone therapy has decreased over time in the United States, which researchers suggest may play a key role in the declining rate of atypical ductal hyperplasia, a known risk factor for breast cancer. More Breast Cancer Current Events and Breast Cancer News Articles |
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