Washington: A new study has found that the risk of breast cancer increases in the woman who have a family history of prostate cancer among first-degree relatives.
The study conducted by Wayne State University explained that risk of developing breast and prostate cancer was increased among individuals with a family history of the same disease, particularly among first-degree relatives, so doctors should analyze the family history before treating.
The researchers examined women who were free of breast cancer when enrolled in the previous observational study, but after years were diagnosed with the cancer, so analyzed that a family history of prostate cancer in first-degree relatives i.e. fathers, brothers, and sons was linked with a 14 percent increase in breast cancer risk for women.
On the other hand families with the history of both the cancers was linked with a 78 percent increase in breast cancer risk, and these risks were found higher among African American women than white women.
Jennifer L. Beebe-Dimmer, PhD, MPH, of the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute and Wayne State University School of Medicine in Detroit said that the increase in breast cancer risk associated with having a positive family history of prostate cancer was modest, whereas women with a family history of both breast and prostate cancer among first-degree relatives had an almost 2-fold increase in risk of breast cancer.
Dr. Beebe-Dimmer concluded that patients and physicians didn`t consider certain cancer diagnoses among family members, especially those having members of opposite sex, so the clinicians should collect a complete family history of all cancers.
The study is published in the journal of the American Cancer Society, CANCER.
