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ADVEReadNOWISEMENT
Research indicates that women who have their first child later in life face a higher risk of developing breast cancer.
According to Weston Porter, a comparative oncology professor at Texas A&M University in the United States, women who have their first baby after age 30 see their breast cancer risk rise by 40 per cent to 45 per cent.
This often overlooked form of cancer, known as postpartum breast cancer, occurs in women under 45 within a few years of childbirth. Postpartum breast cancers tend to be more aggressive than other forms of the disease, making early detection and specialised treatment crucial.
Overall, breast cancer affects approximately one in 11 women in the European Union and one in seven women in the United Kingdom.
In 2022, 2.3 million women globally were diagnosed with breast cancer and 670,000 died, and those figures are expected to rise in the coming decades, according to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) cancer research agency.
Women over the age of 45 make up the vast majority of cases and deaths, but in the EU, about 3.9 per cent of all breast cancer deaths are among women under age 45.
Symptoms can include a lump in the breast, changes to breast shape or skin texture, nipple discharge, or persistent pain, though early stages are sometimes symptom-free.
The biological link between pregnancy and risk
Porter’s research explores why age at first pregnancy matters so much when it comes to breast cancer risks among new mothers.
His team found that when women have their first pregnancy in their 30s, “there is a change in the immune infiltration or inflammation that is occurring” in the breast.
“This change, specifically as you’re going through lactation, and specifically involution – or when the child stops nursing – is resulting in an influx of these inflammatory cells,” Porter said.
The increase in inflammatory cells is what raises the risk of breast cancer, he said.
By studying these changes, researchers hope to identify markers or signs of cancer that could be targeted to improve treatment.
Notably, other studies have shown that pregnancy and childbirth can lower the risk of breast cancer among older women.
The new research suggests that for first-time mothers in their 30s, the risks increase in the years immediately following pregnancy before declining over the long term.
The number of children a woman has and whether she breastfeeds them can also affect her cancer risk.
For example, a 2020 meta-analysis of more than 50,000 women across 47 studies found that each additional year of breastfeeding per child could reduce breast cancer risk by over 50 per cent, from 6.3 to 2.7 cases per 100 women.
Given the higher risks among younger mothers, Porter advised women who have a pregnancy in their 30s “to be more vigilant”.
He suggested they have regular mammograms and perform self-exams to identify lumps or abnormalities.