Chris wrote: > Janet R. Daling et al., "Risk of Breast Cancer Among > Young Women: Relationship to Induced Abortion," > 86 J. National Cancer Institute, 1584 (1994)
Now that's a better reference, and as I suspected, the study has been mis-reported. Here's an abstract of what she did. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx url: http://jncicancerspectrum.oupjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/jnci;86/21/15 84?fulltext=&searchid=QID_NOT_SET Journal Of The National Cancer Institute, Vol 86, 1584-1592 Risk of breast cancer among young women: relationship to induced abortion JR Daling, KE Malone, LF Voigt, E White and NS Weiss Division of Public Health Sciences, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA 98104. BACKGROUND: Certain events of reproductive life, especially completed pregnancies, have been found to influence a woman's risk of breast cancer. Prior studies of the relationship between breast cancer and a history of incomplete pregnancies have provided inconsistent results. Most of these studies included women beyond the early part of their reproductive years at the time induced abortion became legal in the United States. PURPOSE: We conducted a case-control study of breast cancer in young women born recently enough so that some or most of their reproductive years were after the legalization of induced abortion to determine if certain aspects of a woman's experience with abortion might be associated with risk of breast cancer. METHODS: Female residents of three counties in western Washington State, who were diagnosed with breast cancer (n = 845) from January 1983 through April 1990, and who were born after 1944, were interviewed in detail about their reproductive histories, including the occurrence of induced abortion. Case patients were obtained through our population-based tumor registry (part of the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program of the National Cancer Institute). Similar information was obtained from 961 control women identified through random digit dialing within these same counties. Logistic regression analysis was used to estimate odds ratios and confidence intervals (CIs). RESULTS: Among women who had been pregnant at least once, the risk of breast cancer in those who had experienced an induced abortion was 50% higher than among other women (95% CI = 1.2-1.9). While this increased risk did not vary by the number of induced abortions or by the history of a completed pregnancy, it did vary according to the age at which the abortion occurred and the duration of that pregnancy. Highest risks were observed when the abortion was done at ages younger than 18 years-- particularly if it took place after 8 weeks' gestation--or at 30 years of age or older. No increased risk of breast cancer was associated with a spontaneous abortion (RR = 0.9; 95% CI = 0.7-1.2). CONCLUSION: Our data support the hypothesis that an induced abortion can adversely influence a woman's subsequent risk of breast cancer. However, the results across all epidemiologic studies of this premise are inconsistent--both overall and within specific subgroups. The risk of breast cancer should be reexamined in future studies of women who have had legal abortion available to them throughout the majority of their reproductive years, with particular attention to the potential influence of induced abortion early in life. This article has been cited by other articles: Thomas, D. B., Carter, R. A., Bush, W. H. Jr., Ray, R. M., Stanford, J. L., Lehman, C. D., Daling, J. R., Malone, K., Davis, S. (2002). Risk of Subsequent Breast Cancer in Relation to Characteristics of Screening Mammograms from Women Less Than 50 Years of Age. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 11: 565-571 [Abstract] [Full Text] Langston, A. A., Malone, K. E., Thompson, J. D., Daling, J. R., Ostrander, E. A. (1996). BRCA1 Mutations in a Population-Based Sample of Young Women with Breast Cancer. N Engl J Med 334: 137-142 [Abstract] [Full Text] Melbye, M., Wohlfahrt, J., Olsen, J. H., Frisch, M., Westergaard, T., Helweg-Larsen, K., Andersen, P. K. (1997). Induced Abortion and the Risk of Breast Cancer. N Engl J Med 336: 81-85 [Abstract] [Full Text] Hartge, P. (1997). Abortion, Breast Cancer, and Epidemiology. N Engl J Med 336: 127-128 [Full Text] Jordan, V. C., Morrow, M. (1999). Tamoxifen, Raloxifene, and the Prevention of Breast Cancer. Endocr Rev 20: 253-278 [Abstract] [Full Text] xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Here's what you wrote Chris: > "Every female 18 years and under who had an abortion, and > also had a relative afflicted by breast cancer (mother, sister or > aunt) was also afflicted by breast cancer by the age of 45! Please notice that this study ONLY INCLUDED CANCER PATIENTS! She interviewed 845 cancer patients from 3 counties in Washington state to find out if they ever had an abortion. Yet the way you report the study, it sounds like every female in the world has contracted cancer who was 18 years and younger and who had both an abortion and a relative with breast cancer. This study DOES NOT SUPPORT THAT STATEMENT. See for yourself in the abstract above. Chris wrote: > Yet laws are passed in many jurisdictions forbidding full disclosure > with information like this from being provided to young pregnant > women, or even any pregnant women. What state has passed a law forbidding the sharing of information shown above? This abstract was readily available to me on the Internet once you gave me the reference. I encountered no Gestapo agents who quizzed me to make sure that I was not planning on getting an abortion before reading this abstract. I did encounter a request for money if I wanted to read the whole article, but the abstract was readily available free of charge. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Following is another article done three years later that showed no relationship after factoring out other risk factors. url: http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/abstract/336/2/81 Volume 336:81-85 January 9, 1997 Number 2 Induced Abortion and the Risk of Breast Cancer Mads Melbye, M.D., Jan Wohlfahrt, M.Sc., J�rgen H. Olsen, M.D., Morten Frisch, M.D., Tine Westergaard, M.D., Karin Helweg-Larsen, M.D., and Per Kragh Andersen, Ph.D. ABSTRACT Background It has been hypothesized that an interrupted pregnancy might increase a woman's risk of breast cancer because breast cells could proliferate without the later protective effect of differentiation. Methods We established a population-based cohort with information on parity and vital status consisting of all Danish women born from April 1, 1935, through March 31, 1978. Through linkage with the National Registry of Induced Abortions, information on the number and dates of induced abortions among those women was combined with information on the gestational age of each aborted fetus. All new cases of breast cancer were identified through linkage with the Danish Cancer Registry. Results In the cohort of 1.5 million women (28.5 million person-years), we identified 370,715 induced abortions among 280,965 women (2.7 million person-years) and 10,246 women with breast cancer. After adjustment for known risk factors, induced abortion was not associated with an increased risk of breast cancer (relative risk, 1.00; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.94 to 1.06). No increases in risk were found in subgroups defined according to age at abortion, parity, time since abortion, or age at diagnosis of breast cancer. The relative risk of breast cancer increased with increasing gestational age of the fetus at the time of the most recent induced abortion: <7 weeks, 0.81 (95 percent confidence interval, 0.58 to 1.13); >12 weeks, 1.38 (1.00 to 1.90) (reference category, 9 to 10 weeks). Conclusions Induced abortions have no overall effect on the risk of breast cancer. Source Information >From the Department of Epidemiology Research, Danish Epidemiology Science Center, Statens Serum Institut (M.M., J.W., M.F., T.W., P.K.A.), the Danish Cancer Registry (J.H.O.), and the National Board of Health (K.H.-L.) - all in Copenhagen, Denmark. The views expressed in this paper do not necessarily reflect the position or the policy of the U.S. government. Address reprint requests to Dr. Melbye at the Department of Epidemiology Research, Danish Epidemiology Science Center, Statens Serum Institut, 5 Artillerivej, DK-2300 Copenhagen S, Denmark. This article has been cited by other articles: Moynihan, R., Heath, I., Henry, D., Gotzsche, P. C (2002). Selling sickness: the pharmaceutical industry and disease mongering * Commentary: Medicalisation of risk factors. BMJ 324: 886-891 [Full Text] Chlebowski, R. T. (2002). BREAST CANCER RISK REDUCTION: Strategies for Women at Increased Risk. Annu. Rev. Medicine 53: 519-540 [Abstract] [Full Text] Wohlfahrt, J., Andersen, P. K., Mouridsen, H. T., Melbye, M. (2001). Risk of Late-stage Breast Cancer after a Childbirth. Am. J. Epidemiol. 153: 1079-1084 [Abstract] [Full Text] Brind, J., Chinchilli, V. M., Senghas, R. E., Dolan, M. F., Melbye, M., Wohlfahrt, J., Andersen, P. K. (1997). Induced Abortion and the Risk of Breast Cancer. N Engl J Med 336: 1834-1835 [Full Text] Hartge, P. (1997). Abortion, Breast Cancer, and Epidemiology. N Engl J Med 336: 127-128 [Full Text] Goldacre, M J, Kurina, L M, Seagroatt, V, Yeates, D (2001). Abortion and breast cancer: a case-control record linkage study. J Epidemiol Community Health 55: 336-337 [Full Text] Mehigan, S. (1998). Induced abortion did not increase the risk of breast cancer. Evid Based Nurs 1: 21-21 [Full Text] Gardner, H. P., Ha, S. I., Reynolds, C., Chodosh, L. A. (2000). The CaM Kinase, Pnck, Is Spatially and Temporally Regulated during Murine Mammary Gland Development and May Identify an Epithelial Cell Subtype Involved in Breast Cancer. Cancer Res 60: 5571-5577 [Abstract] [Full Text] Jordan, V. C., Morrow, M. (1999). Tamoxifen, Raloxifene, and the Prevention of Breast Cancer. Endocr Rev 20: 253-278 [Abstract] [Full Text] Melbye, M., Wohlfahrt, J., Lei, U., Pedersen, B. N., Mouridsen, H. T., Lambe, M., Michels, K. B. (2000). {alpha}-Fetoprotein Levels in Maternal Serum During Pregnancy and Maternal Breast Cancer Incidence. J Natl Cancer Inst 92: 1001-1005 [Abstract] [Full Text] VAN DE VATHORST, S., ALVAREZ-DARDET, C. (2000). Doctors as judges: the verdict on responsibility for health. J Epidemiol Community Health 54: 162-164 [Full Text] Kroman, N., Jensen, M.-B., Wohlfahrt, J., Mouridsen, H. T, Andersen, P. K., Melbye, M., Tutt, A., Ross, G. (2000). Factors influencing the effect of age on prognosis in breast cancer: population based study . Commentary: much still to learn about relations between tumour biology, prognosis, and treatment outcome in early breast cancer. BMJ 320: 474-479 [Abstract] [Full Text] xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Please note that this second study was done much better. The sample size was 1.5 million women from an entire country rather than 845 women from 3 counties in Washington state. Furthermore, it did not just interview women already with cancer. The study apparently did find a possible connection between later term abortions and breast cancer. There are links to many other studies that can be followed on this subject. I don't have the time or motivation to research this further right now. I think the above information is sufficient to show us how cautious we need to be when quoting studies. We only hurt our cause when we sloppily quote studies to try and establish points that are false. A sincere person who looks into a matter like this gets frustrated when he finds that the facts do not line up with the pro-life doctors' claims. After awhile, he stops believing whatever the pro-life doctors say. In the interest of truth, David Miller, Beverly Hills, Florida USA ---------- "Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer every man." (Colossians 4:6) http://www.InnGlory.org If you do not want to receive posts from this list, send an email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and you will be unsubscribed. If you have a friend who wants to join, tell him to send an e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and he will be subscribed.
