Breast Cancer : Risk factors PART 1

Besides being female, increasing age is the most important risk factor for breast cancer. Potentially modifiable risk factors include weight gain after age 18, being overweight or obese (for postmenopausal breast cancer), use of menopausal hormone therapy (combined estrogen and progestin), physical inactivity, and alcohol consumption. Medical findings that predict higher risk include high breast tissue density (a mammographic measure of the amount of glandular tissue relative to fatty tissue), high bone mineral density (women with low density are at increased risk for osteoporosis), and biopsy-confirmed hyperplasia (overgrowth of cells), especially atypical hyperplasia (overgrowth of abnormal cells). High-dose radiation to the chest for cancer treatment also increases risk. Reproductive factors that increase risk include a long menstrual history (menstrual periods that start early and/or end later in life), recent use of oral contraceptives, never having children, and having one’s first child after age 30. part 2 . source:American Cancer Society. Cancer Facts & Figures 2013. Atlanta: American Cancer Society; 2013