Two questions for you wise women!

I help recruit nursing mothers to participate in several studies at the University of Massachusetts which use breastmilk to study breast cancer.  

These studies look at ductal epithelial cells present in breastmilk for genetic changes thought to be related to the development of breast cancer.  More information on the studies is available here:  www.breastmilkresearch.org

My questions are:

1)  What factors would you guess influence the number of epithelial cells present in breastmilk?  For example, would time between emptying breasts create more pressure in the breast and result in more epithelial cells released?  Do epithelial cells adhere more to fat or protein and so are related to the proportion of either?  Would stage or length of lactation impact the number or cells present?  Are there other factors to consider?  Any and all thoughts would be appreciated!

2)  I was asked to give a brief talk on compositional changes in breastmilk over the course of lactation.  I have all of the standard reference books (BF and Human Lactation, Core Curriculum, etc.), but I'm wondering if there is a concise article anyone could point me to that summarizes these changes.

Thank you for any help!

Tanya Lieberman, IBCLC

www.breastmilkresearch.org
http://breastfeeding.blog.motherwear.com
www.spanishforbreastfeedingsupport.com
www.valleybreastfeeding.org

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