An Overview Of The Risk Factors For Breast Cancer

Breast cancer ranks first in terms of incidence and mortality among women. The number of women diagnosed annually with breast cancer worldwide is almost 1 million and more than 410,000 are likely to die due to this disease. Recent studies have shown that the risk factors for breast cancer are not well known by patients and even by some healthcare professionals. Even if the effective prevention of cancers necessarily involves better consideration of the different risk factors, in particular for the good management of oncological disease (self-care skills). This article summarizes breast cancer's risk factors as reported in recent publications: The impending risk factors for breast cancer are: genetic factors, the early age of first menstruation, late menopause, breast density and benign breast disease. Other factors are likely to be modified such as: administration of hormonal menopause treatments, parity, age at first pregnancy, breastfeeding, certain eating habits, obesity, physical activity, environmental and professional exposure, disturbance of the circadian rhythm and smoking. The constant identification of risk factors, that can be influenced may facilitate the implementation of effective prevention strategies. (C) 2021 l'Acadernie nationale de medecine. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.