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The relationship between twin births and maternal risk of breast cancer: a meta-analysis

Breast Cancer Research and Treatment volume 131, pages 671–677 (2012)Cite this article

Abstract

Women who undergo a greater number of menstrual cycles may be at increased risk of breast cancer, possibly due to cumulative exposure to ovarian hormones. Pregnancy reduces the lifetime number of menstrual cycles and also influences the levels of ovarian hormones. Twin pregnancies differ from singleton pregnancies in both hormone levels and perinatal changes. To date, a meta-analysis on the effects of twin birth on the risk of maternal breast cancer has not been conducted. Among 17 relevant publications identified in a systematic search, some suggest that twin births may be associated with lower breast cancer risk but others do not; therefore, the results are inconclusive. Although our pooled results of all 17 published studies did not show a reduced maternal risk of breast cancer for twin births (HR 0.94; 95% CI = 0.87–1.02; P = 0.127), a trend toward reduced maternal risk of breast cancer was identified in a subgroup analysis of cohort studies (HR 0.91; 95% CI = 0.83–1.01; P = 0.068). The results of this meta-analysis suggest that twin pregnancy does not significantly decrease the maternal risk of breast cancer.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by a grant of the Korean Healthcare Technology R&D Project, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Republic of Korea (A040151).

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Affiliations

  1. Division of Medical Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, Korea University Guro Hospital, 97 Gurodong-gil, Guro-ku, Seoul, Korea

    Hye Sook Kim, Kyong Hwa Park, Yeul Hong Kim, Jun Suk Kim & Jae Hong Seo

  2. Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Korea University Guro Hospital, 97 Gurodong-gil, Guro-ku, Seoul, Korea

    Ok Hee Woo

  3. Department of Surgery, Korea University Guro Hospital, 97 Gurodong-gil, Guro-ku, Seoul, Korea

    Sang Uk Woo, Eun Sook Lee & Jae-Bok Lee

  4. Department of Radiation Oncology, Korea University Guro Hospital, 97 Gurodong-gil, Guro-ku, Seoul, Korea

    Dae Sik Yang

  5. Department of Pathology, Korea University Guro Hospital, 97 Gurodong-gil, Guro-ku, Seoul, Korea

    Ae-Ree Kim

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  1. Hye Sook Kim
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Correspondence to Jae Hong Seo.

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Kim, H.S., Woo, O.H., Park, K.H. et al. The relationship between twin births and maternal risk of breast cancer: a meta-analysis. Breast Cancer Res Treat 131, 671–677 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10549-011-1779-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10549-011-1779-5

Keywords

  • Twin births
  • Breast cancer
  • Meta-analysis