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March 20, 2006

Breast asymmetry linked to cancer

Topics: Medicine

The difference in the size of a woman's right and left breast may help predict her risk for developing breast cancer. Although few women have perfectly symmetrical breasts, a study suggests that a large difference in size is an independent risk factor for the disease. Researchers reported that each 3.38-ounce increase in breast asymmetry, as measured by mammography, predicted a 50 percent increase in breast cancer risk.

(...) The finding that women who later developed breast cancer had more asymmetry than those who did not is consistent with previous studies by the same researchers comparing mammograms from breast cancer patients and nonpatients.

(...) The researchers hope to confirm the findings by examining mammograms from 13,000 women who were free of breast cancer when they entered a study on menopause 25 years ago. Differences in breast size will be compared between women who later developed breast cancer and those who did not.

(...) Even if those findings suggest a strong link between breast asymmetry and breast cancer, Scutt says it is just one of many traits that influence breast cancer risk.

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Posted by Richard at March 20, 2006 7:25 PM

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