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Abortion not linked to breast cancer

What breastcancer.org says about this article

The study reviewed here supports earlier evidence that abortion, whether induced or a miscarriage, doesn't affect breast cancer risk.

Research has explored the relationship between having children and breast cancer risk. Some studies have suggested that having children after age 25 or not having any children at all can increase breast cancer risk. These possible effects make it reasonable to wonder whether abortion can affect breast cancer risk.

The study reviewed here followed more than 100,000 women, which is a large study. Usually, the larger a study is, the more accurate its results.

Abortion is a very sensitive topic. breastcancer.org hopes that the results of this study can help you feel more informed and secure about important health decisions you may face.

Last Updated: 2007-04-23 17:04:38 -0400 (Reuters Health)

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Neither spontaneous abortion (also known as miscarriage) nor induced abortion appears to affect the risk of breast cancer in young women, according to a report in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

In theory, abortion could have certain biologic effects on breast tissue that promote cancer formation. However, previous studies investigating this topic have yielded inconsistent results.

In the present analysis, Dr. Karin B. Michels, from Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, and colleagues analyzed the association in 105,716 women, between 29 and 46 years of age, who were enrolled in the Nurses' Health Study II (NSHII). Information on abortion was updated biennially beginning at the start of the study in 1993.

During follow-up from 1993 to 2003, a total of 1458 women developed breast cancer, the report indicates. Histories of induced and spontaneous abortion were recorded in 16,118 and 21,753 of the participants, respectively.

There was no evidence that spontaneous or induced abortion significantly increased or decreased the risk of breast cancer.

"The data from the NHSII provide further evidence of a lack of an important overall association between induced or spontaneous abortions and risk of breast cancer," the researchers conclude.

SOURCE: Archives of Internal Medicine, April 23, 2007.

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This page was last modified on: July 27, 2007

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