Benign breast disease and subsequent breast cancer: English record linkage studies.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Benign breast disease (BBD) increases the risk of breast cancer, but details of the relationship would benefit from further study in the UK.

Methods

Analysis of linked statistical abstracts of hospital data, including a cohort of 20 976 women with BBD in an Oxford data set and 89 268 such women in an English national data set.

Results

Rate ratios (RRs) for breast cancer, comparing BBD and comparison cohorts in these two data sets, were 2.3 (95% CI: 2.2-2.5) and 3.2 (3.0-3.3), respectively. RRs rose with increasing age at BBD diagnosis and remained elevated for at least 20 years after diagnosis. RRs were particularly high for a relatively small number of cancers occurring in the first few months after BBD diagnosis.

Conclusions

Our findings accord wel

SUBMITTER: Goldacre MJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2990391 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature