Jaye,

Maybe this study would be of help.  It suggests just the opposite of  
"breast milk as a cause of cancer."  I have not read the full study.   
I wonder if the person inquiring saw/heard of just the title and  
missed reading the results.

Juan A Ortega-García, Josep Ferrís-Tortajada, Alberto M Torres- 
Cantero, Offie P Soldin, Encarna Pastor Torres, Jose L Fuster-Soler,  
Blanca Lopez-Ibor, Luis Madero-López (2008)
Full breastfeeding and paediatric cancer
Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health 44 (1-2), 10–13.  (January  
2008)

Aim:  It has been suggested that there is an inverse association  
between breastfeeding and the risk of childhood cancer. We  
investigated the association between full breastfeeding and  
paediatric cancer (PC) in a case control study in Spain.
Methods:  Maternal reports of full breastfeeding, collected through  
personal interviews using the Paediatric Environmental History, were  
compared among 187 children 6 months of age or older who had PC and  
187 age-matched control siblings.

Results:  The mean duration of full breastfeeding for cases were 8.43  
and 11.25 weeks for controls. Cases had been significantly more often  
bottle-fed than controls (odds ratio (OR) 1.8; 95% confidence  
interval (CI) 1.1–2.8). Cases were significantly less breastfed for  
at least 2 months (OR 0.5; 95% CI 0.3–0.8), for at least 4 months  
(OR 0.5; 95% CI 0.3–0.8), and for 24 weeks or more (OR 0.5; 95% CI  
0.2–0.9).

Conclusions:  Breastfeeding was inversely associated with PC, the  
protection increasing with the duration of full breastfeeding.  
Additional research on possible mechanisms of this association may be  
warranted. Meanwhile, breastfeeding should be encouraged among mothers.

On Jul 21, 2008, at 5:42 PM, LACTNET automatic digest system wrote:


> Date:    Mon, 21 Jul 2008 16:42:46 -0700
> From:    "Jaye Simpson, IBCLC" <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: Baby getting cancer through breastmilk??
>
> Hi All,
>
> I got this e-mail question today from an RN:
>
> **Can you help me research any studies that have been done about a
> link
> between cancer being passed through breastmilk to the baby, causing
> cancer
> to develop in the child?  I can't find anything reputable ...
>


Anne Altshuler, RN, MS, IBCLC, LLLLeader
[log in to unmask]
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