Abortion and breast cancer risk

Having an abortion or miscarriage does not increase a woman's risk of suffering from breast cancer, the most common cause in women, later in life. The current study contradicts earlier research on this topic; a re-analysis of data from 53 studies in 16 countries involving women with breast cancer showed there was no link between breast cancer and a terminated pregnancy. The researchers indicated that results from previous studies that concluded there was a link were based on unreliable data and poorly conducted research. The present study claims to be the first of a kind where so much information was brought together.Researchers from the University of Oxford, analysed virtually all the worldwide data that looked at risk factors for breast cancer and concluded that abortion and miscarriage were not associated with the disease. The research included 44,000 breast cancer patients who took part in studies where a history of abortion had been recorded before the cancer was diagnosed. The odds of developing the disease were compared in women with and without any record of abortion. The researchers also reviewed data from studies in which 39,000 women were questioned about their history of abortion after they had been diagnosed with cancer, which was considered a less reliable format that could produce misleading results. Their replies were compared with answers from women who did not have the disease.

More than one million cases of breast cancer are diagnosed worldwide each year and nearly 580,000 occur in developed countries. Despite doubts about the credibility of earlier studies, some researchers have suggested that women considering abortion should be warned about the raised risk of breast cancer.