Thin girls at high risk of breast cancer

Women who were thin as young girls are at a higher risk for breast cancer as compared to women who were heavier.

Obesity is a known risk factor for breast cancer. To examine the link between childhood body size and breast tumor characteristics, researchers compared 2,818 Swedish breast cancer patients with 3,111 women without breast cancer. The researchers took into account the body mass index of all the participants.

It was found that a large body type at the age of seven years was associated with a decreased risk of postmenopausal breast cancer. Although a large body type in girls is strongly associated with other known risk factors for breast cancer, such as early menstruation, a high adult BMI and breast density, a large body type at age seven remained a significant protective factor after adjustment for these other issues.

The findings indicate that childhood body size is a potentially useful predictor of breast cancer risk. Even though the mechanism underlying this protective effect could not be explained by the researchers,   women might substantially decrease their risk of breast cancer by monitoring their nutrition and exogenous hormone intake at different points in life.