Risk for breast cancer among women with endometriosis

Lisbeth Bertelsen, Lene Mellemkjaer, Lene Mellemkjær, Kirsten Frederiksen, Susanne K. Kjær, Susanne K Kjaer, Louise A Brinton, Lori C Sakoda, Irene van Valkengoed, Irene G. M. van Valkengoed, Jørgen H Olsen
International journal of cancer · 2006 · vol. 120(6) , pp. 1372–1375 · doi:10.1002/ijc.22490 · PMID:17187365 · W2065428692
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⚙ AI-generated summary by claude@2026-06, 2026-06-06 ⓘ

This case-cohort study found no overall association between endometriosis and breast cancer risk, but identified age-dependent risks, with younger women showing reduced risk and older women showing increased risk.

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Abstract

Although several risk factors are common to endometriosis and breast cancer, the results of observational studies of an association have so far been inconsistent. We evaluated the relationship between endometriosis and breast cancer on the basis of data on selected cancers and medical histories from the Danish nationwide cancer and hospital registries used in a large case-cohort study. A total of 114,327 women were included in the study of whom 1,978 women had received a diagnosis of endometriosis and 16,983 had had a diagnosis of breast cancer between 1978 and 1998. Of the women with endometriosis, 236 subsequently received a diagnosis of breast cancer. The crude overall rate ratio for breast cancer after endometriosis was 1.00 and after adjustment for reproductive factors, calendar-period, bilateral oophorectomy and benign breast disease, the rate ratio was 0.97 (95% confidence interval, 0.85-1.11). The risk for breast cancer increased with age at diagnosis of endometriosis, so that women in whom endometriosis was diagnosed at a young age (approximately or =40 years) tended to have an increased risk for breast cancer. The reduced risks observed among young women may reflect their exposure to drugs with antiestrogenic effects. The increased risk associated with endometriosis among postmenopausal women may be due to common risk factors between postmenopausal endometriosis and breast cancer or an altered endogenous estrogen.

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Condition tags

mesh:D004715endometriosis

MeSH descriptors

Breast Neoplasms Endometriosis Adult Breast Neoplasms Breast Neoplasms Breast Neoplasms Cohort Studies Denmark Denmark Endometriosis Endometriosis Female Humans Registries Risk

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References (20)

Cited by (50)

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