HHS HealthBeat (November 5, 2009)

Lifestyle and a second breast cancer

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

Surviving a case of breast cancer doesn’t necessarily end the risk. Women who’ve had one case are at a higher risk of having a second.

At Seattle’s Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Christopher Li has been examining factors that raise the risk, but which women can control. He compared women who had two cases of breast cancer and women who had only one.

[Christopher Li speaks] "Obesity, alcohol use, and smoking were all associated with an increased risk of developing a second breast cancer."

Current smokers had the greatest increase – more than double the risk of women who didn’t smoke. But Li says it would be good to control all the risks.

The study in the Journal of Clinical Oncology was supported by the National Institutes of Health.

Learn more at hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I’m Ira Dreyfuss.

Last revised: May 7, 2011