Risk factors and risk reduction of breast and ovarian cancer

Abstract

Purpose of review Breast and ovarian cancer remain a significant burden for women living in the Western world. This paper reviews the risk factors and current strategies to prevent these diseases. Recent findingsEstablished factors associated with the risk of breast cancer include family history, reproductive factors and lactation, as well as age at menarche and menopause. Hormone replacement therapy increases the risk, whereas oral contraceptives probably confer no increased risk. Alcohol moderately increases the risk, whereas a diet rich in folate and carotenoids might be protective. The role of other dietary factors, smoking and physical exercise remain unclear. Important risk factors for ovarian cancer are reproductive factors and possibly the longterm use of hormone replacement therapy. The risk is decreased by oral contraceptives. In carriers of a BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutation, prophylactic surgery can significantly reduce the risk of breast as well as ovarian cancer. Tamoxifen may be considered as a chemopreventive agent in women with a high risk of breast cancer, including carriers of a BRCA2 mutation, but is probably not effective in BRCA1 carriers. Summary During the period of this review, the importance of several known risk factors was confirmed, whereas the effects of other factors became more clear. Chemoprevention and prophylactic surgery have emerged as preventative options that can reduce the risk of breast and ovarian cancer.

Relationships among Serum CA15-3 Tumor Marker, TNM Staging, and Estrogen and Progesterone Receptor Expression in Benign and Malignant Breast Lesions

“…Consistent with other studies (Brekelmans 2003;Lumachi et al, 2004 ), our study shows no significant association between breast cancer onset age, menarche age, menopause age, parity, BMI, and CA15-3 level among all study groups (Table 2). However, serum CA15-3 level showed a non-significant increase within elderly menopause patients with breast cancer, in contrast to what was reported by Dehaghani et al, (2007) who found statistically significant values.…”

Activation of the PI3K/AKT pathway mediates FSH-stimulated VEGF expression in ovarian serous cystadenocarcinoma

“…Ovarian epithelial cancer is more common in conditions with elevated follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH), such as in postmenopausal women or in women who have received treatment for induction of ovulation [17,18]. Additionally, reduced risk for ovarian cancer is associated with multiple pregnancies, breast-feeding, oral contraceptives, and estrogen replacement therapy, which are related to lower levels of and reduced exposure to FSH and LH [19,20].…”

Vitamin D Receptor Gene BsmI and FokI Polymorphisms in Relation to Ovarian Cancer Risk in the Polish Population

“…Risk factors for ovarian cancer include advancing age, infertility, inflammation, environmental factors, positive family history of ovarian, uterine, breast, or colon tumors associated with mutations of BRCA1 or BRCA2, mismatch repair genes, or TP53 (Sueblinvong and Carney, 2009). Risk is also related to the number of ovulatory cycles and is halved in women using oral contraceptives, those with greater parity, or those who breast-fed long-term (Brekelmans, 2003;Sueblinvong and Carney, 2009;Romero and Bast, 2012).…”

“…The environmental factors may include diet, lifestyle, and exposure to chemicals or other toxins (Brekelmans, 2003). Recently, some studies have suggested the possible role of vitamin D in the development of cancers, including ovarian carcinogenesis (Grant, 2012 .VDR forms heterodimers with the related retinoid X receptors and initiates the transcription of various genes (Zhang et al, 2011).…”