Experts Conclude Abortion Not Linked to Breast Cancer

There is no evidence that having an abortion increases the risk of getting breast cancer later in life, according to scientific advisers to the National Cancer Institute.

Based on this finding, the NCI shortly is expected to update its Internet breast cancer "fact sheet" for women, which currently says the evidence on a possible link betwween abortion and breast cancer is not clear.

The outside experts were called in to review data after abortion opponents and members of Congress complained about an earlier version of the fact sheet that said there appeared to be no link between abortion and breast cancer.

Now, the experts have reaffirmed the original view, and the NCI this week posted the conclusion of those experts on its Web site: "Induced abortion is not associated with an increase in breast cancer risk."

The experts also said: "Recognized spontaneous abortion is not associated with an increase in breast cancer risk."

Other conclusions of the NCI advisers posted on the NCI web site related to breast cancer risk are:

• Early age at first full-term birth is related to lifetime decrease in breast cancer risk.
• Increasing parity (number of live births) is associated with a long-term risk reduction, even when controlling for age at first birth.
• The additional long-term protective effect of young age at subsequent term pregnancies is not as strong as for the first term pregnancy.
• A nulliparous woman (someone who has never given birth to a live infant) has approximately the same risk as a woman with a first term birth around age 30.
• Breast cancer risk is transiently increased after a term pregnancy.
• Long duration of lactation provides a small additional reduction in breast cancer risk after consideration of age at and number of term pregnancies.
  

Other sources: Journal of the National Cancer Institute