Human Chorionic Gonadotropin Does Not Correlate with Risk for Maternal Breast Cancer: Results from the Finnish Maternity Cohort.

ABSTRACT: Human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) is necessary for the maintenance of early pregnancy and promotes normal breast cell differentiation. Administered hCG reduces risk of carcinogen-induced breast cancer in animal models, and higher circulating hCG concentrations were associated with significantly lower long-term risk of breast cancer in a prior nested case-control study. In this study, we investigated early-pregnancy hCG concentrations and subsequent breast cancer risk. We conducted a nested case-control study with 1,191 cases and 2,257 controls (matched on age and date at blood collection) in the Finnish Maternity Cohort, a cohort with serum samples from 98% of pregnancies registered in Finland since 1983. This study included women with a serum sample collected early (<140 days gestation)

SUBMITTER: Fortner RT 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5270509 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature