Risk factors affect the chance of getting breast cancer, Having a risk factor, or even several, does not mean that someone will get breast cancer. Most women who have one or more breast cancer risk factors never develop the disease, while many women with breast cancer have no apparent risk factors (other than being a woman and growing older).
There are different kinds of risk factors. Some factors, like age or race, can't be changed. Risk factors for breast cancer that cannot change include:
- Gender. Being a woman is the leading risk factor for developing breast cancer. The chance of a woman developing invasive breast cancer sometime during her life is just under one in eight.
- Aging. Risk of developing breast cancer increases as women age.
- Menstrual periods. Women who have had more menstrual cycles because they started menstruating at an early age (before age 12) and/or went through menopause at a later age (after age 55) have a slightly higher risk of breast cancer.
- Genetics. Between five percent and 10 percent of breast cancer cases are thought to be hereditary.
- Family history. Breast cancer risk is higher among women whose close blood relatives have the disease.
- Personal history. Women with cancer in one breast have a three- to four-fold increased risk of developing cancer in the other breast or in another part of the same breast.
- Race and ethnicity. Caucasian women are slightly more likely than African American women to develop breast cancer, but African American women are more likely to die of breast cancer. Asian, Hispanic, and Native American women have a lower risk of developing and dying from breast cancer.
- Dense breast tissue. Women with dense breasts have more glandular tissue and less fatty tissue and are at higher risk of breast cancer. Dense tissue and tumors have similar density, so tumors can be harder to detect in women with denser breasts.
- Benign breast conditions. Women diagnosed with certain benign breast conditions may have an increased risk of breast cancer. Benign conditions include: Non-proliferative (non-spreading) lesions; Proliferative (spreading) lesions without atypia; Proliferative (spreading) lesions with atypia.
- Lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS). Women with LCIS have a seven- to 11-fold increased risk of developing cancer in either breast.
- Previous chest radiation. Women who had radiation therapy to the chest area as treatment for another cancer (such as Hodgkin disease or non-Hodgkin lymphoma), especially before the age of 30, are at significantly increased risk for breast cancer.
- Diethylstilbestrol (DES) exposure. From the 1940s through the 1960s, some pregnant women were given DES because it was thought to lower their chances of miscarriage. These women have a slightly increased risk of developing breast cancer. Women whose mothers took DES during pregnancy may also have a slightly higher risk of breast cancer.
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