Breastfeeding and prognostic markers in breast cancer

BackgroundSeveral studies suggest that total breastfeeding time reduces breast cancer risk. The underlying mechanisms are unclear. Whether breastfeeding also affects the prognosis is not yet investigated. A number of tumour characteristics, i.e. histological type of cancer, grade, tumour size, Nottingham prognostic index, vascular invasion and DNA-ploidy, have been demonstrated to be of prognostic value.MethodsWe have searched for a possible link between these prognostic markers and breastfeeding time, age at first child and number of children. 250 women treated for breast cancer have answered a questionnaire.ResultsNo significant interactions were found possibly with one exception, LVI vs. age at first child. We found, significant correlations between lobular cancer, and thereby also DNA-ploidy, and age at first childbirth.ConclusionsWe have found that lobular cancer (and thereby also diploid tumours) are connected, independently, to age at first childbirth and possibly also to number of children but no other correlations between reproductive data, breastfeeding included, and prognostic markers used in this study were found.