Risk Factors of Breast Cancer
Posted at: 10/02/2007 8:57 AM
| Updated at: 08/03/2009 5:14 PM
By: Kurt Christopher
Risk Factors of Breast Cancer
We do not yet know exactly what causes breast cancer, but we do know that certain risk factors are linked to the disease. Some risk factors, such as smoking, can be controlled. Others, like a person's age or family history, can't be changed. While all women are at risk for breast cancer, the factors listed below can increase a woman’s chances of having the disease.
Risk Factors You Can Control
Not having children: Women who have had not had children, or who had their first child after age 30, have a slightly higher risk of breast cancer. Being pregnant more than once and at an early age reduces breast cancer risk.
Birth control pills: Studies have found that women using birth control pills have a slightly greater risk of breast cancer than women who have never used them. Women who stopped using the pill more than 10 years ago do not seem to have any increased risk.
Breast-feeding and pregnancy: Some studies have shown that breast-feeding slightly lowers breast cancer risk, especially if the breast-feeding lasts 1½ to 2 years.
Alcohol: Use of alcohol is clearly linked to a slightly increased risk of getting breast cancer. Women who have 1 drink a day have a very small increased risk. Those who have 2 to 5 drinks daily have about 1½ times the risk of women who drink no alcohol.
Obesity and high-fat diets: Being overweight is linked to a higher risk of breast cancer, especially for women after change of life and if the weight gain took place during adulthood.
Exercise: Studies show that exercise reduces breast cancer risk. One study found that as little as 1 hour and 15 minutes to 2 and a half hours per week of brisk walking reduced the risk by 18%. Walking 10 hours a week reduced the risk a little more.
Postmenopausal hormone therapy (PHT; also called hormone replacement therapy): It has become clear that long-term use (several years or more) of combined PHT (estrogens together with progesterone) after menopause increases the risk of breast cancer as well as the risk of heart disease, blood clots, and strokes. The breast cancers are also found at a more advanced stage, perhaps because PHT seems to reduce the effectiveness of mammograms. Five years after stopping PHT, the breast cancer risk appears to drop back to normal. Estrogen alone (ERT) does not seem to increase the risk of breast cancer as much, if at all.
Gender: Simply being a woman is the main risk for breast cancer. While men can also get the disease, it is about 100 times more common in women than in men.
Age: The chance of getting breast cancer goes up as a woman gets older. Nearly 8 out of 10 breast cancers are found in women age 50 or older.
Genetic risk factors: About 5% to 10% of breast cancers are linked to changes (mutations) in certain genes. The most common gene changes are those of the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes.
Family history: Breast cancer risk is higher among women whose close blood relatives have this disease. The relatives can be from either the mother’s or father’s side of the family.
Race: White women are slightly more likely to get breast cancer than are African-American women. But African American women are more likely to die of this cancer. Many experts now believe that the main reason for this is because they have faster growing tumors. Asian, Hispanic, and American Indian women have a lower risk of getting breast cancer.
Earlier breast radiation: Women who have had radiation treatment to the chest area (as treatment for another cancer) earlier in life have a greatly increased risk of breast cancer.
Menstrual periods: Women who began having periods early (before 12 years of age) or who went through the change of life (menopause) after the age of 55 have a slightly increased risk of breast cancer.
Treatment with DES: In the past, some pregnant women were given the drug DES (diethylstilbestrol) because it was thought to lower their chances of losing the baby. Recent studies have shown that these women (and their daughters who were exposed to DES while in the uterus), have a slightly increased risk of getting breast cancer.
The Lovelace Breast Care Center at Lovelace Women’s Hospital offers comprehensive care – from early detection to treatment and aftercare – in one convenient location. Our team of breast health professionals will help you assess your risk of developing breast cancer, guide you through mammograms and clinical exams and teach you the proper method of breast self-examination. We also offer counseling, education and support programs.
For more information or to schedule a mammogram, call 505.727.6700 or visit our website.
* Source: American Cancer Society, Inc. “What Causes Breast Cancer?” Revised:
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