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Does Asthma Affect the Risk of Developing Breast Cancer?
Karin B Michels1,2, Orianne Dumas3, Raphaelle Varraso3
1Institute for Prevention and Cancer Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine and Medical Center, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.
Cancer Medicine
|December 31, 2024
Summary
Women with asthma showed a reduced risk of developing breast cancer, particularly among never-smokers. This suggests an active immune system may offer protection against breast cancer development.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Oncology
- Epidemiology
Background:
- The immune system's role in cancer defense is often underestimated.
- Previous research on atopic diseases and cancer risk is limited.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between asthma and the incidence of breast cancer in a large cohort of women.
- To explore whether an active immune response, as indicated by asthma, influences breast cancer risk.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of data from 202,055 women in the Nurses' Health Study (NHS) and NHS II.
- Utilized Cox proportional hazards models to assess the link between physician-diagnosed asthma and subsequent breast cancer diagnosis.
- Follow-up over 4,393,760 person-years, identifying 11,096 incident breast cancer cases.
Main Results:
- Women with asthma exhibited a slightly lower risk of breast cancer (pooled Hazard Ratio: 0.92).
- This protective association was more pronounced in never-smokers (pooled HR: 0.86).
- The findings suggest a potential immune-mediated protection against breast cancer.
Conclusions:
- Asthma is associated with a reduced risk of breast cancer in women.
- The inverse relationship between asthma and breast cancer risk is particularly evident in never-smokers.
- An active immune system may play a protective role in preventing breast cancer.
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