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Women who were bigger and longer babies may be more likely to develop breast cancer, researchers reported on Tuesday.

The study adds to evidence that, at least in some cases, something that happens in the womb may cause cancer later in life.

Previous research into links between birth size and breast cancer have proved inconsistent, but the findings published in the Public Library of Science journal PLoS Medicine are strong evidence that the two may be related.

“These findings provide strong evidence that birth size — in particular birth length — is a marker of a woman’s breast cancer risk in adulthood, although the mechanisms underlying this association are unclear,” Isabel dos Santos Silva of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and colleagues wrote.

Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths among women worldwide, according to the American Cancer Society. The group estimates about 465,000 women died of breast cancer globally in 2007, and 1.3 million new cases were diagnosed.

Declining death rates from breast cancer in developed countries have been attributed to early detection through mammography screening and to improved treatment.

Dos Santos Silva and colleagues examined 32 studies comprising 600,000 women, mainly in developed countries. Their analysis included more than 22,000 women who had breast cancer.

After considering established risk factors such as age and late menopause, the researchers found a strong association with birth size, birth length and head circumference. Of the three, birth length showed the strongest link.

“The amount by which birth size affected breast cancer risk was not affected by allowing for other established risk factors,” the researchers wrote.

For example, women with recorded birth weights of 4 kilograms or more had a 12 percent higher chance of breast cancer than babies weighing 3 to 3.5 kilograms at birth, the study found.

The link between breast cancer and birth size appeared smaller when compared with other risk factors. The researchers estimated that birth size may be responsible for up to 5 percent of all women who develop breast cancer by the age of 80.

Some research has linked hormones such as estrogen and human growth hormone with cancer.

The researchers noted age of puberty and adult height are also associated with breast cancer risk, and growth as a fetus can predict a girl’s growth, so there could be a link there.

“The maternal and/or foetal hormonal environment associated with large birth size may alter programing of the breast, making it more susceptible to cancer,” the researchers wrote.

by Michael Kahn | Maggie Fox and Tim Pearce ( LONDON Reuters )

Causes

Although Janet Lane-Claypon performed the first scientific analysis of breast cancer epidemiology throught the mid-1920s, we still do not know exactly what causes breast cancer. We know that all cancers are considered to result from damage caused to the DNA. Thee mutation of DNA is known to have occurred from exposure to radiation, estrogen hormones, dietary influences, geographical location, and a variety of other inconclusively related factors. The majority of breast cancer causes remain unknown which unfortunately limits our ability to find a cure. Breast cancer risks increase with age, as women who live to be 90 have a one in seven chance of getting breast cancer. Women who have family history of breast cancer are also more likely to experience mutation.

Symptoms

Early symptoms of breast cancer are painless, making it difficult to diagnose in early stages. This is why regular mammograms are so important. A lump under the arm or above the collarbone that does not go away is one sign. Other symptoms include breast discharge, changes in skin, and nipple inversion.

Treatment

The most popular form of treatment is surgery, usually combined with some kind of hormonal therapy. Patients are divided into high risk and low risk cases. The severity of a patient’s condition determines the specific cycle of surgery and hormonal treatment.

During radiation therapy, patients are subjected to high powered X-rays or gamma rays that target the cancerous tumor(s). With the use of a machine called a linear accelerator, radioactive rays bombard the cancer. This type of therapy is usually used in tandem with surgery as a precaution to ensure that the cancer will not recur. Unfortunately, radiation must be used sparingly to prevent damage to normal tissue. Each treatment takes about fifteen minutes per day throughout a period of five to seven weeks. Normal cells are able to repair themselves more readily than cancerous cells, which makes radiation therapy a practical treatment.

Chemotherapy is used before or after surgery. The following are different types of chemotherapy:
Tamoxifen blocks the estrogen receptor in cells to prevent the transport of estrogen. Aromatase inhibitors can lower the amount of estrogen in post-menopausal women. GnRH-analogues are used during the early stages of cancer. Ovarian ablation or suppression is used in pre-menopausal women to stop the ovaries from producing hormones.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Mimi Rothschild is a homeschooling parent, author, children’s rights advocate, and Founder and C.E.O. of Learning by Grace, Inc. She and her husband of almost 3 decades reside with their 8 children in suburban Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Rothschild co-founded Learning By Grace, Inc. because “our current system of education has broken its promise…” Learning By Grace, Inc. delivers Internet-based multimedia education to PreK-12 children in the United States and throughout the world.
by MIMI ROTHSCHILD

Breast cancer is second only to lung cancer as the leading cause of cancer death among women in the United States.
Breast cancer occurs in men also, but the number of new cases is small. Early detection and effective treatment is expected to reduce the number of women who die from breast cancer, and development of new methods of prevention continue to be studied.

No one knows the exact causes of breast cancer. Doctors can seldom explain why one woman gets breast cancer and another does not. However, research has shown that women with certain risk factors are more likely than others to develop breast cancer.

Anything that increases a person’s chance of developing a disease is called a risk factor; anything that decreases a person’s chance of developing a disease is called a protective factor. Some of the risk factors for breast cancer can be avoided, but many cannot.

Some studies suggest that the more alcoholic beverages a woman drinks, the greater her risk of breast cancer.

So if you an alcoholic, there is a higher risk of breast cancer.

The equivalent of a glass of wine after work - this is a relatively safe level to drink. However even low levels of alcohol intake have been linked to breast cancer.

Besides cutting down on alcohol, being physically active is important, as it further reduces risk of breast cancer.

Women who are physically inactive throughout life appear to have an increased risk of breast cancer. Being physically active may help to reduce risk by preventing weight gain and obesity.

It is especially important to remain physically active after menopause. The chance of getting breast cancer goes up as a woman gets older. A woman over age 60 is at greatest risk. This disease is very uncommon before menopause. High levels of estrogen may be the reason that obese women have an increased risk of breast cancer. And some studies show that gaining weight after menopause increases the risk of breast cancer.

Lack of physical activity is an important contributor to many of the most important chronic diseases for older Americans, including heart disease, diabetes, colon cancer, and high blood pressure. Lack of physical activity, along with poor nutrition, is a major contributor to the growing epidemic of obesity in the United States.

Start to be physically active today, and always be in the pink of health as you age!

by JULIE WALKER

British scientists have identified a new breast cancer susceptibility gene, adding one more piece to the puzzle of the genetic causes of breast cancer.

Women with mutations in a gene called BRIP1 have twice the normal risk of developing breast cancer, according to the study published today in Nature Genetics. Canadian experts say this is an important step in cancer research, but caution that patients won’t soon see direct benefits from the finding.

Over the last decade, scientists have identified a number of breast cancer susceptibility genes, five of which have a role in repairing DNA. Mutations in the BRCA1, BRCA2 and TP53 genes are associated with a high risk of developing the disease, between a 10 to 20-fold increase. Mutations in the CHEK2 and ATM genes are associated with a lower risk, approximately a two-fold increase.

The newly identified gene, BRIP1, is in the same class as CHEK2 and ATM, the British team of researchers report. Study lead author Nazneen Rahman, a researcher with the Institute of Cancer Research, was not available for comment.

The research team looked for the BRIP1 gene in 1,212 women with breast cancer who had a family history of the disease, but who did not have the known breast cancer genes BRCA1 or BRCA2. They also looked for the BRIP1 gene in 2,081 healthy women.

Nine women with breast cancer had the mutation, while only two of the healthy women had it. The team estimated that women who carry a faulty version of BRIP1 have twice the normal risk of developing breast cancer.

There is no doubt that BRIP1 plays a role in breast cancer, but it’s doubtful that it will immediately be used in screening procedures to help prevent the disease, said Steven Narod, director of the Familial Breast Cancer Research Unit at Women’s College Research Institute in Toronto and who is credited with helping discover the BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene mutations.

“A two-fold risk is not trivial, but it’s not the kind of message that will mean women will run out and get tested,” he said.

The baseline risk for a woman developing breast cancer over her lifetime is seven per cent, he explained. Women with either the BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation have a 70 per cent lifetime risk, while women with the BRIP1 mutation have a 14 per cent lifetime risk, he said.

It’s estimated that 1 in 200 women in Canada carry either the BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation. Approximately 1 in 1,000 women carry the faulty version of BRIP1, said Narod.

Ellen Warner, a medical oncologist at the cancer centre at the Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, said BRIP1 is a rare gene and screening for it won’t provide women with any more information than what can be determined from their family history.

“From a women’s point of view, this is not a breakthrough,” she said. “It will not change the lives of women.”

But the study is exciting news for cancer researchers, she said.

Thousands of people are working to figure out the role genetics play in breast cancer. The breast cancer susceptibility genes that have been identified to date probably only account for 25 per cent of the familial risk of breast cancer, said Warner. There may be hundreds of rare genes associated with an increased risk in breast cancer.

Breast cancer occurs when cells in the breast begin to grow out of control enabling them to invade nearby tissues or spread throughout the body. Collections of these out of control tissues are called tumors. However, not all breast tumors are considered cancerous since certain types of large cells just cannot be spread or threaten a person’s life and this kind of tumor is called benign tumor. On the other hand, the tumors that can spread all throughout the body or invade nearby tissues are considered cancerous cells and are malignant. Cancer cells usually comes from either ducts or glands in the breast that is why it may take months or even years for a tumor to be notice in the breast. Breast tumors are screened with the use of mammograms that are rather accurate in screening tumor or cancer cells.Women are much prone to develop breast cancer that men. Only 1% to 2% of men have been known to have cases of breast cancer. The early onset of menstruation in women at the age of 12 increases the risk for a breast cancer on the other hand an early menopausal period may reduce the risk of breast cancer. The risk for women to have breast cancer increases with age in fact a study shows that women over 50 are more likely to develop breast cancer. Nevertheless, the incidence of breast cancer among younger women is also increasing in an alarming rate that is why more women of ages 20s to 30s have subjected themselves to be diagnosed.Breast cancer is not only acquired but also can be inherited. For women who have genetic mutation such as BRCA1 or BRCA2 has an 80% risk of developing breast cancer. Women who have first-degree relative diagnosed to have breast cancer increase their risk of also acquiring breast cancer. Moreover, women with first-degree relative that are diagnosed to have breast cancer before menopause increase the risk for them in acquiring breast cancer.Some factors contribute to the occurrence of breast cancer and these are as follows: smoking, alcohol and radiation exposure. Women who are smoking will increase their chances to have breast cancer. Aside from that, high intakes of alcohol have been found to be a source of breast cancer. Radiation exposure is another factor that contributes to breast cancer. Studies have shown that women as well as children who have undergone high-dose radiation therapy have a much higher chance of having breast cancer.