Does Your Breast Size Have Anything To Do With Your Breast Cancer Risk?

Breast cancer is one of the most frightening types of cancer that women face. Many of them concentrate on their risk factors, knowing that there are certain types of this disease that fly under all known radars, sneaking up on its victim who may not have a single one of the risk factors. Some women who by all rights have every risk factor previously discovered never develop cancer. In the world of health care, there is no such thing as absolutes and exacts. Now, a commercial DNA testing facility has announced that it has concluded an internal study that reveals that breast size as well as the discovery of certain genes may show a woman's risk of breast cancer over her lifetime. That study, according to lead researcher, Nick Eriksson, shows that women with larger breasts have a higher risk of certain types of breast cancer.


Published in the journal, BMC Medical Genetics, the research looked at variations known as single nucleotide polymorphisms or SNPs. These variations occur when a single nucleotide in the DNA strand is changed in some way. Some SNPs do not cause any change in cell health or behavior while others may make them far more susceptible for certain types of illness or disease, including cancer. Eriksson and his DNA company claim to have found seven of these SNPs which are associated with breast size and breast cancer risk. They made that connection after studying the discovery of the SNPs in genetic makeup of each of the tested subjects and then comparing those findings to their self reported breast size.
The logical conclusion, according to the journal entry is that a woman with larger breasts would have more breast cells that in turn would increase her risk for breast cancer to develop. Eriksson's study used 16,000 females who had already employed the company, 23andMe, to study their DNA for other purposes. After finding the seven SNPs in those samples, Eriksson contacted the women for additional information.
Critics are quick to point out that the study is lacking on a number of fronts. First, it was too widely written from the beginning, with too many variables allowed.. Some of the information that was gathered was not independently confirmed. Other information, including family health history and other breast cancer risk factors were not covered by the study. Additional studies may be designed to look at the links between the SNPs and breast cancer risk in general as well as for those who do have larger breasts.

source:   http://www.streetarticles.com/breast-cancer/does-your-breast-size-have-anything-to-do-with-your-breast-cancer-risk