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IGF-I during primiparous pregnancy and maternal risk of breast cancer

  • Epidemiology
  • Published:
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Abstract

Previously, we reported that insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-I during early pregnancy is positively associated with maternal risk of breast cancer. To further explore this association, we designed a new study limited to women who donated a blood sample during their first pregnancy ending with childbirth. A case–control study was nested within the Northern Sweden Maternity Cohort in which repository since 1975, serum specimens remaining after early pregnancy screening for infectious diseases had been preserved. Study subjects were selected among women who donated a blood sample during the full-term pregnancy that led to the birth of their first child. Two hundred and forty-four women with invasive breast cancer were eligible. Two controls, matching the index case for age and date at blood donation were selected (n = 453). IGF-I was measured in serum samples on an Immulite 2000 analyzer. Conditional logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals. A significant positive association of breast cancer with IGF-I was observed, with OR of 1.73 (95% CI: 1.14–2.63) for the top tertile, P < 0.009. Subgroup analyses did not indicate statistical heterogeneity of the association by ages at sampling and diagnosis or by lag time to cancer diagnosis, although somewhat stronger associations with risk were observed in women ≤age 25 at index pregnancy and for cases diagnosed within 15 years of blood donation. The results of the study add further evidence for an adverse effect of elevated IGF-I concentrations during early reproductive life on risk of breast cancer.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the US National Cancer Institute [CA114329 to P.T. and CA120061 to A.L.]. The authors are indebted to Yelena Afanasyeva, Anne Marie Ahren, Soren Holmgren, Ritu Andersson, and Lena Selbrand for their excellent technical assistance in the conduct of the study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Cancer Epidemiology, German Cancer Research Center, Neuenheimer Feld 280, 69120, Heidelberg, Germany

    Tianhui Chen, Annekatrin Lukanova & Helena Schock

  2. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA

    Annekatrin Lukanova & Paolo Toniolo

  3. Department of Medical Biosciences, University of Umeå, Umeå, Sweden

    Kjell Grankvist & Eva Lundin

  4. Department of Environmental Medicine, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA

    Anne Zeleniuch-Jacquotte & Paolo Toniolo

  5. Department of Clinical Sciences/Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Umeå, Umeå, Sweden

    Marianne Wulff

  6. Department of Radiation Sciences, University of Umeå, Umeå, Sweden

    Robert Johansson & Per Lenner

  7. Department of Public Health and Clinical Medicine/Nutritional Research, University of Umeå, Umeå, Sweden

    Goran Hallmans

  8. Department of Clinical Microbiology, University of Umeå, Umeå, Sweden

    Goran Wadell

Authors
  1. Tianhui Chen
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  2. Annekatrin Lukanova
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  3. Kjell Grankvist
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  4. Anne Zeleniuch-Jacquotte
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  11. Paolo Toniolo
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  12. Eva Lundin
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Correspondence to Annekatrin Lukanova.

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Chen, T., Lukanova, A., Grankvist, K. et al. IGF-I during primiparous pregnancy and maternal risk of breast cancer. Breast Cancer Res Treat 121, 169–175 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10549-009-0519-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10549-009-0519-6

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