Myths about breast cancer. Can a bra provoke him?

There are many stereotypes around breast cancer. Which of them are true? Aif.ru told Chief Oncologist of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, Director General of the National Medical Research Center for Radiology Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences Andrey Kaprin.

Scientists from Oxford (UK) conducted a study in which 3,000 women with malignant neoplasms in the breast and 11,000 without signs of the disease took part. After menopause, the incidence was higher among those who wore a bra.

However, experts are sure that it was not tight underwear that provoked the disease. Breast cancer is a hormone-dependent tumor. Its development is associated with the amount of the female sex hormone estrogen in the body. During menopause, its main source is body fat. In obese women, the level of the hormone is higher, which means that the risk of developing a breast tumor is also higher.

However, breast cancer is no longer considered a disease of mature women. Today, this disease is much “younger”, and the risk group already includes young girls over 25 years old, and not after 40, as was previously thought.

The risk of developing breast cancer before the age of 30 is approximately 1 in 233. After forty, the likelihood of developing the disease increases.

Is it true that mastopathy and fibroadenoma provoke breast cancer?

Mastopathy in the vast majority of cases is not considered a disease at all. What ultrasound specialists and mammologists call «diffuse mastopathy» is a variant of the norm, which, as a rule, does not require any intervention if premenstrual pain is not too pronounced.

However, some of its proliferative forms at high mammographic density can be regarded as a risk factor. In this case, it is necessary to undergo treatment, in principle, be regularly checked by a gynecologist and perform x-ray mammography and ultrasound of the mammary glands in a timely manner.

Also, they are not a precancer of the mammary gland and fibroadenomas. Its degeneration into a malignant tumor occurs only in 5-10% of cases if the formation has a leaf-shaped (filliond) shape. This type of fibroadenoma is characterized by increased growth, and a biopsy reveals cells that differ from normal. This is why verification of any breast mass is so important.

There are a number of factors that affect the growth and formation of fibroadenoma. First of all, it is a hormonal imbalance.

Fibroadenoma can occur against the background of an increased level of estrogen in the blood and a reduced level of progesterone. Therefore, sometimes a woman may notice that the growth of education increases at the end of the menstrual cycle or during pregnancy. And after the onset of menopause, the risk of developing pathology becomes less due to a decrease in the level of female sex hormones.