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Family history of breast cancer as a risk indicator for the disease
Family history of breast cancer was examined among 1159 women who themselves had breast cancer and among 11,590 control subjects in a retrospective case-control study conducted in 1976 among a sample of female nurses in the United States. Having a mother with breast cancer increased a woman's risk of developing the disease by 80%, while having a sister with such a history increased the risk by 150%. Adjustment for potential confounding variables by logistic regression analysis did not alter these estimates appreciably. Both these associations were stronger at younger ages of onset of cancer, and in a positive maternal history was correlated with a larger increase in risk in women who menstruated for more than 35 years.
Family history of breast cancer was examined among 1159 women who themselves had breast cancer and among 11,590 control subjects in a retrospective case-control study conducted in 1976 among a sample of female nurses in the United States. Having a mother with breast cancer increased a woman's risk of developing the disease by 80%, while having a sister with such a history increased the risk by 150%. Adjustment for potential confounding variables by logistic regression analysis did not alter these estimates appreciably. Both these associations were stronger at younger ages of onset of cancer, and in a positive maternal history was correlated with a larger increase in risk in women who menstruated for more than 35 years.