In case no one has posted this...I obviously disaggree with Wood's conclusion that this is not a reason to breastfeed! What about all of us who DO bf our kids for 3 years and who have 3 kids! Look at the cummulative total, especially if those children were borne the high estrogen years of a woman's lifespan. I think this response to an important study shows his "familiarity" (I'm being kind) with the pharmaceutical companies! Harrumph! --Chris Hafner-Eaton, PhD, MPH, CHES, IBCLC [log in to unmask] €€€INFANT CUISINE AND MOTHER CARE: LACTATION CONSULTING & PERINATAL CARE€€€ <http://health.yahoo.com/search/healthnews?lb=s&p=id%3A25542> Here is the text only version: Breastfeeding Can Reduce A Woman's Risk Of Breast Cancer The Longer A Woman Breastfeeds, The More Protection She Has July 19, 2002 06:05:08 AM PST, ACS News Today Having more babies and breastfeeding longer can reduce a woman's risk of breast cancer, according to a study reported in the July 20 issue of The Lancet (Vol. 360: 187-195). In the most detailed study on the role of breastfeeding in breast cancer risk, the Collaborative Group on Hormonal Factors in Breast Cancer looked at 47 previous reports of studies conducted in 30 countries. These reports contained information looking at 50,000 women with breast cancer and almost 97,000 women who did not develop breast cancer. "Although childbearing is known to protect against breast cancer, what contribution breastfeeding has on this protective effect, if any, has been difficult to determine," the authors said. Developed Countries Differed From Developing Countries The report said the average number of births and the length of time women breastfed their children varied across countries. The variation was linked to the small family size and short lifetime duration of breastfeeding of women in developed countries, such as the US, the authors said. In the US the number of pregnant women who have ever breastfed was 50%, which was the lowest of the countries studied, the authors reported. In contrast, more than 90% of the women in Japan who have given birth have breastfed at some time. Even more striking was the duration of breastfeeding. Looking just at women who did not have breast cancer, the average duration of breastfeeding for women in developed countries was three months per child. But, in developing countries such as those in Africa and Asia, the average duration of breastfeeding was 30 months. There were several important findings, based on the authors' detailed analysis of the information. For women who never breastfed their children, the report said that each birth reduced a woman' s individual risk of developing breast cancer by 7%. For women who breastfed their children compared to women who never breastfed, a woman' s risk of breast cancer decreased by a bit more than 4% for each year during her lifetime that she breastfed her children. Breastfeeding Alone Gave Reduced Risk The study also figured out how breastfeeding and pregnancy would affect the risk of breast cancer in developed countries, if women had the same number of births and length of breastfeeding that was found in developing countries. The results were powerful: the risk of breast cancer in developed countries would be cut by more than half if women had the same patterns of births and breastfeeding as women in developing countries. Almost two-thirds of the reduced risk was due to breastfeeding alone. The rest would be due to the increased numbers of births. "These relations are significant and are seen consistently for women from developed and developing countries, of different ages and ethnic origins, and with various childrearing patterns and other personal characteristics," said the authors. "The short duration of breastfeeding typical of women in developed countries makes a major contribution to the high incidence of breast cancer in these countries." However, the study also cautions, "To expect that substantial reductions in breast-cancer incidence could be brought about today by women returning to the pattern of childbearing and breastfeeding that typified most societies until a century or so ago is unrealistic. "In the meantime, important reductions in breast cancer incidence could be achieved if women considered breastfeeding each child for longer than they do now," the authors said. The study concluded that if women had an average of two and one-half children and breastfed each child an extra six months, 5% of breast cancers would be prevented each year. If they breastfed their child for an additional 12 months, 11% of breast cancers would be prevented each year. Study May Encourage US Women To Breastfeed Longer Jeanne Calle, PhD, director of analytic epidemiology for the American Cancer Society, said the current study helps to refine our knowledge of the reduced risks that come from increased births and longer times for breastfeeding. "Whether women were heavy or thin, or whether they lived in developed or undeveloped countries, it made no difference," said Calle. "The relationships are true." Calle noted that there is a big difference between the average two and one-half births and three months of breastfeeding for each birth typical of the developed countries compared to the average six and one-half births and 24 months of breastfeeding for each child found in developing countries. "It' s not realistic to expect women in the United States to have this number of children or breastfeed this long," Calle said. "But the study may encourage more women to breastfeed a bit longer." "We have so much phobia and concern about the increased rate of breast cancer —what could it be due to? In a simple and eloquent way, this study says that a great deal of the increased risk is due to changes in reproductive patterns," Calle said. "Things have changed over the past 100 years. "The message here is not to have seven children and breastfeed them for a total of 13 years," Calle said. "The message is that simple and unglamorous factors affect the risk of breast cancer. Breastfeeding does decrease your risk of breast cancer, and if you want to increase the duration of breastfeeding a bit, that' s great." Expert Suggests Other Ways to Reduce Risk William C. Wood, MD, chairman of the department of surgery at Emory University School of Medicine, and an expert in breast cancer, noted this study shows that if a woman had two children and breastfed for one year for each child, her personal lifetime risk of breast cancer would decrease from 10% to 9%. For women with a high risk of breast cancer, Wood noted that drugs like tamoxifen could reduce the risk of breast cancer by 50%. "It would seem in that situation to make more sense to take tamoxifen if you are a woman at high risk of breast cancer," said Wood. "This reduction does not appear enough to decide to breastfeed." Wood pointed out that having children at a younger age is the ideal way to reduce the risk of breast cancer. "This study should influence how we approach birth control pills and other hormonal therapies," he said. "I would advocate breastfeeding based on motivation and lifestyle, not on decreasing the risk of breast cancer." Wood said, "This study is important because it is well done. But the benefit of breastfeeding, although real, is small." *********************************************** The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(TM) mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. 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