Women in their 30s and 40s should be warned about the health risks of excess fat and alcohol to help cut their risk of breast cancer , new research suggests. The investigation revealed that specific lifestyle elements influencing cancer risks fluctuate based on a woman's particular age group and stage of life. It is already established by medical professionals that roughly one in four breast cancer cases are preventable through positive habits, including regular physical activity , managing weight, and limiting intake of alcohol.
However, this fresh evidence highlights how distinct phases of life carry specific vulnerabilities, enabling healthcare providers to offer targeted advice when preventative measures will prove most effective. Professor Marc Gunter, chairman in cancer epidemiology and prevention at Imperial College London, said: “Our study has shown that adolescence and early adulthood may be a particularly important time to encourage physical activity and help prevent rapid weight gain. “Meanwhile, early to mid-adulthood, from around the 30s to 50s, could be a key period for tackling rising body mass index ( BMI ) and renewed increases in alcohol consumption.
The new study highlights how distinct phases of life carry specific vulnerabilities, enabling healthcare providers to offer targeted advice when preventative measures will prove most effective. (Getty Images/iStockphoto) “By identifying when these behaviour transitions are most likely to occur, the findings could help inform more tailored public health strategies aimed at reducing breast cancer risk across the population.” For the study, data from more than 110,000 women taking part in the Breast Cancer Now Generations Study was analysed by researchers at Imperial College London and The Institute of Cancer Research, London. The findings, published in Scientific Reports, showed how major breast cancer risk factors related to lifestyle, such as alcohol consumption, smoking, exercise and weight, change throughout the course of people’s lives. While alcohol consumption, smoking and physical activity peaked in late adolescence, body fat steadily increased throughout adulthood, peaking in the late 60s.
Experts also found that women born between 1960 and 2003 generally had higher BMI trajectories throughout life and their level of smoking and alcohol consumption peaked at younger ages, than women born between 1908 and 1959. Dr Simon Vincent, chief scientific officer at Breast Cancer Now, which funded the research, said: “We know that at least 23% of breast cancers could be prevented through healthy lifestyle changes, including being physically active, maintaining a healthy weight and drinking less alcohol. “This study gives us valuable insight into when these behaviours are most likely to change.
“Understanding these key life stages could help us better support women to make lasting changes that reduce their risk of breast cancer.” Experts also found that women born between 1960 and 2003 generally had higher BMI trajectories throughout life and their level of smoking and alcohol consumption peaked at younger ages, than women born between 1908 and 1959. (Getty Images/iStockphoto) Amy Berrington, lead of the Generations Study at The Institute of Cancer Research, London, said: “These lifestyle factors also cause a wide range of other chronic diseases including diabetes, cardiovascular disease and other cancers, so these public health strategies would have a much broader impact on women’s health.” There are around 59,000 new cases of breast cancer in women every year in the UK and 420 in men. Separately, another new study suggests women who are overweight in early adulthood may be less likely to develop breast cancer after menopause due to lasting changes in the structure of their breast tissue. But researchers stressed that gaining weight is not protective against cancer, highlighting that excess weight is actually linked to a number of cancers.
They said that the finding shows how health “exposures” in earlier life can have lasting effects decades later. Researchers from The University of Manchester and Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust said that the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and breast cancer is “complex”. They highlighted how elevated BMI during middle age has been linked to an increased risk of breast cancer.
But previous studies have also suggested that high BMI during childhood and early adulthood is associated with a reduced risk of post-menopausal breast cancer. They said that both these findings indicate that excess fat across different life stages may influence breast cancer “through different biological pathways”. The authors set out to examine data on women taking part in the UK PROCAS study, which involves almost 58,000 women in the Greater Manchester area who were aged 46 to 73 when they signed up.
The University of Manchester study highlighted how elevated BMI during middle age has been linked to an increased risk of breast cancer. (Getty Images) The women were recruited to the study during routine breast cancer screenings between 2009 and 2015. Data on BMI was collected, as well as self-reported BMI for when the women were aged 20. Overall, data was available for 33,816 post-menopausal women.
During an average follow-up period of a decade, 1,261 of these women were diagnosed with breast cancer. The researchers found that women who had a higher BMI when they were aged 20 appeared to have a reduced risk of post-menopausal breast cancer. But those with a higher BMI in later adulthood and higher breast density had an increased risk.
Researchers also examined breast density using data collected at the mammogram screenings – breast density refers to the amount of fibrous and glandular tissue in the breast compared to fatty tissue. Women with denser breasts face higher odds of getting breast cancer. The research team found that women with a higher BMI when they were aged 20 generally had lower breast density later in life and were also less likely to develop post-menopausal breast cancer.
Overall, they found that for every five-point increase in BMI at age 20, the risk of developing post-menopausal breast cancer fell by around 15%. Breast density is assessed through mammograms and other types of medical imaging. (Rex) And the research suggests that lower breast density may account for 59% of this effect. The research team believe the timing of body weight gains may have an impact.
Because breasts are still developing during adolescence and early adulthood, this could potentially lead to long-term changes in tissue structure, they suggested. “Early adult BMI may confer a lasting effect by modulating breast tissue composition and reducing susceptibility to carcinogenesis, particularly during the critical window of puberty when rapid mammary tissue proliferation occurs,” they wrote in the British Journal of Cancer. Senior author of the study, Andrew Renehan, professor of cancer studies and surgery at The University of Manchester and programme co-lead in the Cancer Prevention and Early Detection Theme at NIHR BRC: Manchester, added: “These findings do not suggest that gaining weight is protective.
“What they offer is further insight into how breast tissue and consequent breast cancer risk may be shaped across a woman’s lifetime – and we want to understand these mechanisms further. “Maintaining a healthy weight remains important, because excess weight in later adulthood is linked to a higher risk of breast cancer and many other serious diseases. “But this study adds to growing evidence that exposures during early life can have lasting effects on health decades later.”
Source: The Independent
