by

Joseph

Advanced breast cancer rates are increasing in younger women, a new study suggests. According to a report published in the JAMA, incidents of breast cancer are increasing among women aged 25 - 39 years. These findings show that breast cancer should be as much of a concern to younger women as it is to older women.

Dr. Rebecca H. Johnson, director of Seattle Children's Hospital's Adolescent and Young Adult oncology program and colleagues made the discovery after analyzing 34 years of data from the US National Cancer Institute Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) database. The SEER data (1973 to 2009) shows that breast cancer has been rising steadily from 1.53 incidents per 100000 in 1976 to 2.90 per 100000 in 2009 among women aged 25 - 39 across all ethnicities.

One sliver of good news was that researchers found no evidence of advanced breast cancer increases among other age groups.

But amongst those with higher incidents of breast cancer, the study authors said that women with estrogen receptor-positive subtypes were likely to have advanced breast cancer than those with estrogen-receptor negative subtypes.

Various studies have found a relationship between obesity, high estrogen levels and breast cancer.

Due to the fact that obesity has risen to epidemic levels in recent decades, it could account for some of the rising breast cancer incident rates seen in the SEER analysis. Even so, women and health care professionals should take the results of analysis very seriously.

Exercise and Certain Foods May Lower Breast Cancer Risk 

In a study which gives further credence to the adage "prevention is often the best medicine", scientists recently released a report in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute showing that vegetables can lower the risk for certain types of breast cancer.

When researchers followed approximately 934,000 women for a period between 11 to 20 years, they found an association between fruit and vegetable consumption and lower risk of estrogen receptor negative breast cancer.

In the SEER analysis, researchers noted that incidents of breast cancer were higher among women with estrogen receptor positive. This is cause for concern because breast cancer cells that are sensitive to estrogen (positive) tend to be aggressive but are also more likely to respond to hormone therapy.

Exercise may also lower breast cancer risk. Studies show that aerobic activity can cut breast cancer risk by as much as 30%. Younger and older women can benefit from steady exercise.

The results of Johnson's analysis underscore the fact that cancer doesn't care about age.

 Younger people tend to think themselves invincible, yet there is now resounding evidence that cancer is on the rise among women in their twenties and thirties but no so for older women.

Although many factors can account for Johnson's findings, there is no question that diligence and awareness are crucial to fighting this disease. With these facts in mind, what will you do?

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Article Sources

 Johnson RH, Chien FL, & Bleyer A (2013). Incidence of breast cancer with distant involvement among women in the United States, 1976 to 2009. JAMA : the journal of the American Medical Association, 309 (8), 800-5 PMID: 23443443 

Jung S, Spiegelman D, Baglietto L, Bernstein L, Boggs DA, van den Brandt PA, Buring JE, Cerhan JR, Gaudet MM, Giles GG, Goodman G, Hakansson N, Hankinson SE, Helzlsouer K, Horn-Ross PL, Inoue M, Krogh V, Lof M, McCullough ML, Miller AB, Neuhouser ML, Palmer JR, Park Y, Robien K, Rohan TE, Scarmo S, Schairer C, Schouten LJ, Shikany JM, Sieri S, Tsugane S, Visvanathan K, Weiderpass E, Willett WC, Wolk A, Zeleniuch-Jacquotte A, Zhang SM, Zhang X, Ziegler RG, & Smith-Warner SA (2013). Fruit and vegetable intake and risk of breast cancer by hormone receptor status. Journal of the National Cancer Institute, 105 (3), 219-36 PMID: 23349252

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"Breast Cancer Edges Up In Younger Women" copyright 2013 Living Fit, Healthy and Happy_(SM). All Rights Reserved.

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