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Gestational diabetes mellitus may be associated with increased risk of breast cancer

Yong-Moon Mark Park¹, Katie M O'Brien², Shanshan Zhao²

¹Epidemiology Branch, Division of Intramural Research, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709, USA.

British Journal of Cancer

|February 17, 2017

Background:

Although a positive association between type 2 diabetes and breast cancer has been reported, an association with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is less clear.

Methods:

The Sister Study enroled 50 884 women aged 35-74 years, from 2003 through 2009. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate breast cancer risk in relation to GDM.

Results:

Ever having GDM was not associated with breast cancer overall (hazards ratio (HR)=1.10, 95% confidence interval (CI)=0.88-1.36), but there was a suggestive association between ever having a GDM pregnancy and oestrogen receptor (ER) -negative breast cancer (HR=1.73, 95% CI=0.98-3.06). However, having 2 or more GDM pregnancies was associated with overall breast cancer risk 1.68 (95% CI=1.15-2.44) and with ER-positive breast cancer (HR=1.81, 95% CI=1.10-2.98), which was supported by sensitivity analyses. Results were similar when analyses were stratified by whether or not type 2 diabetes had developed after GDM.

Conclusions:

Women with multiple GDM pregnancies had a higher incidence of breast cancer, suggesting that such women could benefit from increased surveillance for breast cancer.

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