What role does obesity play? | Causes for breast cancer

What role does obesity play?

Too much adipose tissue can also be a risk, since precursors of estrogen are converted into it in the fat cells, and therefore higher levels of the hormones that promote breast cancer may be present in obese patients.

What role does dense breast tissue play?

Dense breast tissue occurs in young women in the reproductive phase, because the glandular bodies in the breast have a larger proportion here. But also women after the last period can have very dense glandular tissue. In general, breast tissue can be classified according to its density, although very dense breast tissue carries a higher risk of degeneration because, among other things, screening procedures such as mammography are more unreliable than in patients with less dense breast tissue.

What role does the onset and absence of menstruation play?

Among the medically secured factors of risk for the emergence of cancer of the breast rank among other factors the hormonal influences.Especially a very long hormonally active period, for example due to an early start of the period and a late last period, are considered to be favourable factors. This is mainly due to the fact that in patients with a long hormonally active phase of life, the sex hormones can act on the breast tissue for a long time and thus stimulate tissue growth over a long period of time. In the same way, certain hormone replacement therapies in the life phase after the last period are considered beneficial for breast cancer.

What role do other types of cancer play in the development of breast cancer?

Patients who have already been diagnosed with one type of cancer are more likely to develop breast cancer as well. This is especially true for certain types of cancer. These include the presence of breast cancer in only one breast, as well as colon cancer, ovarian cancer and cancer of the uterine lining.

The presence of these types of cancer increases the risk for those affected to also develop breast cancer. Especially patients with BRCA 1 or BRCA2 mutations have an increased risk of developing various types of cancer.