Breastfeeding reduces risk of familial breast cancer

US researchers used Information from 60,075 women, who had given birth, and were participants in the Nurse’s Health Study which took place between 1997 and 2005.

The study involved a questionnaire in 1997, which analysed breastfeeding history. Subsequent questionnaires, at two year intervals, reported whether the women had been diagnosed with breast cancer.

By June 2005, 608 cases of pre-menopausal breast cancer had been diagnosed – at an average age of 46.2 years. Women with a breast cancer victim who was a first degree relative had a lower risk of developing the disease if they had ever breastfed than those who had not. The link only has relevance to those with a family history.

Variable factors such as the duration of breastfeeding, experiencing amenorrhea and whether or not breastfeeding was exclusive did not alter the association, the authors said.

Women suppressing breast milk production also reduced their risk of breast cancer, compared to those who neither breastfed nor used lactation suppression. This could relate to a malfunction in the process by which mammary tissue returns to its pre- pregnant state caused by engorgement and inflammation.

The study will be published in the next issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.

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