In Brief
Breast Cancer Risk and Lifestyle
More exercise and the renouncement of hormone replacement therapy during menopause can reduce the risk of developing breast cancer. This is the conclusion scientists at the DKFZ have arrived at after evaluating the MARIE study, in which 6,386 female control persons and 3,074 breast cancer patients participated. According to their results, the risk for developing breast cancer is increased particularly by hormone replacement therapy and a lack of physical exercise. The consumption of alcohol and excess weight were revealed to have less influence. Thus, 19.4 percent of invasive breast cancer cases can be ascribed to hormone therapy after menopause, 12.8 percent can be ascribed to the lack of physical activity. Both factors combined are responsible for around 30 percent of cancer cases.
Factors that cannot be influenced, such as family history or the time of the first and the last menstruation, combine to be responsible for 37.2 percent of all cases of malignant breast cancer after menopause. "This means, that two factors over which every woman holds power are responsible for a similar number of cases of breast cancer after menopause as are the non-influenceable factors", says Dr Karen Steindorf.
