Breast cancer is the most common type of invasive cancer in women and the second leading cause of death after lung cancer. The disease affects mostly older women between 50 and 75 and is relatively rare in women under 25. The drivers of breast cancer risk can be different for young women compared to older women. Women who reach menopause late, after the age of 55, have twice the risk of developing breast cancer, while obesity is considered a high-risk factor for the disease in older postmenopausal women.
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Breast cancer is less common in younger women, researcher’s pooled data from 19 different studies to investigate breast cancer risk for a group of 758,592 women who were younger than 55 years. Studies often have smaller numbers of premenopausal breast cancers since breast cancer is less common at younger ages, and the evidence was not as strong as for postmenopausal breast cancer. Their analysis linked a higher body mass index, or BMI, to lower breast cancer risk for younger women across this age group, even for women within a normal weight range.
Nichols saw a trend during his research where, as BMI went up, cancer risk went down. There was no threshold at which having a higher BMI was linked to lower cancer risk. The amount of estrogen produced by ovaries is driven by feedback loops in the body.
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The small amount of estrogen produced by fat tissue before menopause. Women with higher adipose tissue have higher estrogen levels. The amount of estrogen produced by ovaries is driven by feedback loops in body. The small amount of estrogen produced by fat tissue before menopause may help tell the ovaries that they can produce less estrogen and also regulate other hormones or growth factors after menopause, women with higher adipose tissue have higher estrogen levels. After menopause, the ovaries are no longer the primary source of estrogen. Instead, most estrogens come from adipose or fat, tissue. Women who have more adipose tissue after menopause usually have higher levels of estrogen which can contribute to higher breast cancer risk.
| Note: There are so many health risks associated with being overweight or obese. We still believe it is important for women to maintain a healthy weight throughout life. |
article by: Dr. Himani