The good news: Having asthma may lower risk of breast cancer

This is a photo of a female health care worker helping an Asian woman with a mammogram.

There’s positive news in the science of cancer and the impact asthma plays in that disease development. A new study revealed a potential link between asthma and a reduced risk of developing breast cancer.

The recent study, “Does Asthma Affect the Risk of Developing Breast Cancer?,” supports the medical community’s “immune surveillance” hypothesis, which posits that a hyperactive immune system in individuals with asthma may effectively detect and eradicate premalignant cells, thereby preventing cancer.

Researchers have long believed that chronic inflammation from atopic diseases may drive cancer development. This study, which was published in Cancer Medicine, highlights the potential protective role of the immune system in breast cancer development.

To explore this association, a team led by world-renowned epidemiologists analyzed data from more than 200,000 female nurses with no prior history of cancer and who participated in the Nurses’ Health Study (NHS) and the Nurses’ Health Study II (NHS II). Of the enrollees, 18,403 women had physician-diagnosed asthma. Of that, 11,096 of participants were also later diagnosed with breast cancer. The study used Cox proportional hazards models to link physician-diagnosed asthma with breast cancer incidence.

The researchers found that women with asthma had a lower risk of developing breast cancer compared to those without asthma. The hazard ratio (HR) was 0.92 in the NHS data and 0.93 in the NHS II data, with a combined HR of 0.92. Women had a lower risk if they never smoked. In fact, the inverse association was more pronounced among never smokers, with a combined HR of 0.86. Again, the study’s authors said they believe an active immune system, which is characteristic of asthma, may provide protection against breast cancer.

Although the study provides evidence for an inverse association between asthma and breast cancer, further research is needed to fully understand the mechanisms involved. These findings could pave the way for new preventive strategies targeting the immune system to reduce breast cancer risk. Additionally, the researchers noted that previous research on atopic diseases and cancer has been limited.

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