News

  • High Risk Individuals
    • Breast Cancer Survival Gene
      14/04/2010
      QIMR researchers, as part of an international collaboration, have found that a gene that is most commonly associated with skin pigmentation, hair and eye colour may influence a patient's chances of surviving cancer.
      ...more
    • Research News NBCF!
      12/04/2010
      Researchers at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute have discovered that breast stem cells are exquisitely sensitive to the female hormones oestrogen and progesterone....
      ...more
    • Should Genes be patented
      5/02/2010
      The lawsuit challenges the government's granting of control of patents on BRCA1 and BRCA2 to Myriad Genetics (USA).
      ...more

Risk Factors

The most important risk factors for developing breast cancer include:

  • Getting older
  • Having a strong family history of breast cancer
  • Having previously been diagnosed with breast cancer or ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS)


Other factors that seem to slightly increase a woman's risk of developing breast cancer include:

  • Starting menstruation, or "periods", at a relatively early age (before 12 years) 
  • Starting menopause, or "change of life", at a relatively late age (after 55 years) 
  • Not having children, or having a first child after 30 years of age 
  • Not breastfeeding — the more months spent breastfeeding, the lower the risk of developing breast cancer 
  • Taking combined Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) after menopause, especially when taken for five years or longer 
  • Putting on a lot of weight in adulthood, especially after menopause 
  • Drinking alcohol (more than two standard drinks a day) 
  • Having previously been diagnosed with lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS) or atypical hyperplasia (AH)

You can reduce your risk of breast cancer by doing some simple things. Click here to see how!

Information source: National Breast and Ovarian Cancer Centre