Hormones and Epidemiology of Breast Cancer

The important issue of the effects of hormones on breast cancer was addressed in a speech by Dr. Athena Linos, Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Athens and President of the Institute of Preventive Medicine Environmental and Occupational Health, Prolepsis.

Dr. Athena Linos' speech titled "Hormones and Epidemiology of Breast Cancer" was part of the 2010 Symposium of Clinical Oncology on Hormones and Breast Cancer, organized by the Oncology Clinic of the Second Surgical Clinic of Athens University, Aretaieion Hospital, Obstetrics and Gynecology Clinic of the "Konstantopouleio" General Hospital of N. Ionia, held in Athens on May 7 and 8, 2010.

Dr. Linos initially talked about the main risk factors of breast cancer, such as age, age at menarche and menopause, age at first live birth, number of pregnancies, duration of breast feeding, patient's hormonal profile, family history of breast cancer and factors such as diet, exercise and obesity.

Dr. Linos then emphasized the integral role of hormones in breast cancer aetiology, as well as in endometrial and ovarian cancers. Regarding breast cancer in particular, Dr. Linos pointed out that indications from various laboratory studies suggest that levels of certain hormone metabolites could partially explain the causes of breast cancer, although the patterns of hormones metabolism are not fully explored and the results from epidemiological studies on the effect of hormones in breast cancer are inconsistent.