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High white cell count may predict cancer: study

What breastcancer.org says about this article

When doctors screen for breast cancer, they look for any signs of disease in healthy people with no symptoms.

Today, 3 screening tests are routinely done for breast cancer:

  • mammography
  • breast physical exam, done by a doctor
  • breast self-exam

While highly accurate when done as recommended, none of these screening tests are 100% effective in finding ALL breast cancers. So doctors are always looking for other factors associated with cancers that can be added to the screening mix to improve the chances of detecting breast cancer early, when it's most treatable.

White blood cells help your body fight infection and disease. The number of white blood cells in your body goes up when you're sick and your body is trying to fight off what's attacking it. In the large study reviewed here, doctors wondered if more white blood cells in the body were linked to an increased risk of certain cancers, including breast cancer.

The study's results showed that there was an association between higher than average white blood cell numbers and an increased risk of developing breast cancer in post-menopausal women.

In general, a higher than average white blood cell count isn't something to worry about, especially if you've had a cold or other infection or have allergies. But higher white blood cell counts that last for several months and aren't accompanied by an infection may be a sign that your body is trying to fight off something else.

These results add more evidence to the idea of using white blood cell numbers as part of the screening process for breast cancer. Researchers will continue to evaluate the idea until they're sure it can be a valuable screening tool.

For more information on detecting breast cancer as early as possible, visit the breastcancer.org Screening and Testing section.

Last Updated: 2007-10-03 15:29:06 -0400 (Reuters Health)

By Will Boggs, MD

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Postmenopausal women with elevated white blood cell (WBC) counts appear to be at increased risk of developing certain types of cancer, including breast, colorectal, endometrial, and lung cancers, a new study shows. Higher WBC counts also raise the risk of dying from cancer, according to the study.

The proportion of white blood cells (WBC) in the circulation can be used as an indicator of infection or inflammation.

Dr. Karen L. Margolis from HealthPartners Research Foundation, Minneapolis, Minnesota and colleagues studied the relation between the baseline WBC count and newly diagnosed breast, colorectal, endometrial, and lung cancers in 143,748 women enrolled in the Women's Health Initiative (WHI). All of the women were between the ages of 50 and 79 years old, and cancer-free at the outset.

Women with the highest WBC counts had a 15 percent higher risk of breast cancer, 19 percent higher risk of colorectal cancer, 42 percent higher risk of endometrial cancer, and 63 percent higher risk of lung cancer than did women with the lowest WBC counts, the authors report.

Death from breast cancer, colorectal cancer, and lung cancer was higher among women with the highest WBC counts (compared with women with the lowest), the investigators say, as was non-lung cancer and total-cancer mortality.

"A WBC in the upper range of normal (above 7 or so) should be on (doctors') radar, especially if it is persistent and unrelated to any known cause," Margolis said.

"Of course," Margolis emphasized, "most people with a WBC in this range will not develop cancer or cardiovascular disease in the next 5-10 years, and the relative risk increase for cancer is quite small -- relative to smoking, for instance."

SOURCE: Archives of Internal Medicine, September 24, 2007.

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This page was last modified on: October 4, 2007

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