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Prenatal DES exposure in relation to breast size

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Abstract

Purpose

Prenatal DES exposure has been associated with increased risk of breast cancer, but the mechanisms are unknown. Larger bra cup size has also been associated with increased breast cancer risk, although not consistently. We investigated the relation of prenatal DES exposure to mammary gland mass, as estimated by bra cup size.

Methods

In 2006, 3,222 DES-exposed and 1,463 unexposed women reported their bra cup size, band size (chest circumference), and weight at age 20. Prevalence ratios (PR) were calculated for DES exposure in relation to large bra cup size, with control for year of birth and study cohort. Primary analyses were carried out among women who reported a chest circumference of no more than 32 inches because their cup size would be less influenced by fat mass.

Results

Within this group, DES-exposed women had an estimated 45 % increased prevalence (95 % CI 0.97–2.18) of large cup size (C or greater) relative to unexposed women. The PR was further increased among women in this group who had a body mass index of < 21 at age 20: PR = 1.83 (95 % CI 1.11–3.00). The PR for high-dose DES exposure relative to no exposure was 1.67, 95 % CI 1.02–2.73, whereas there was no association of bra cup size with low-dose exposure.

Conclusions

These results provide support for the hypothesis that in utero DES exposure may result in greater mammary gland mass. Taken together with previous research on bra size and breast cancer risk, these findings suggest a mechanism for a possible association of in utero DES exposure with increased risk of breast cancer.

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Acknowledgments

This research was support by a contract from the National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. We thank the field center study managers, Diane Anderson, Elizabeth Barnard, Toni Oliver, Elaine Campbell, Polly Goralski, Kathleen Rowlings, Helen Bond, Ann Urbanovitch, and Kathyln Tucke. We also appreciate the support of Cathy Ann Grundmayer, Shelley Niwa, and Bob Saal of Westat, Inc., for study-wide coordination efforts. Finally, we thank the DES-exposed and unexposed daughters for their longstanding participation in this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Slone Epidemiology Center at Boston University, 1010 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA, 02215, USA

    Julie R. Palmer & Deborah A. Boggs

  2. Department of Epidemiology, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA

    Julie R. Palmer & Elizabeth E. Hatch

  3. Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA

    Rebecca Troisi & Robert N. Hoover

  4. Departments of Community and Family Medicine and Pediatrics, Dartmouth Medical School and the Norris Cotton Cancer Center, Lebanon, NH, USA

    Linda Titus-Ernstoff

  5. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, New England Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA

    William C. Strohsnitter

  6. Department of Molecular Virology and Microbiology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA

    Ervin Adam

Authors
  1. Julie R. Palmer
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  2. Deborah A. Boggs
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  3. Elizabeth E. Hatch
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  4. Rebecca Troisi
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  5. Linda Titus-Ernstoff
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  6. William C. Strohsnitter
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  7. Ervin Adam
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  8. Robert N. Hoover
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Julie R. Palmer.

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Palmer, J.R., Boggs, D.A., Hatch, E.E. et al. Prenatal DES exposure in relation to breast size. Cancer Causes Control 24, 1757–1761 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10552-013-0248-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10552-013-0248-3

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