Period of Famine Seen to Up Breast Cancer Risk

Severe restriction of calorie intake for a relatively short time may increase the risk of breast cancer, according to a study of famine survivors.

These results run counter to some reports that have linked long-term caloric restriction with a decreased risk of breast cancer, but are compatible with animal research. As described in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, more than 15,000 Dutch women were surveyed in 1983 to 1986 about their experience during the famine of 1944/1945. Based on responses to questions about hunger, cold and weight loss, each subject was assigned a famine exposure score: absent, moderate, or severe exposure. Through January 2000, a total of 585 cases of breast cancer were identified in the participants, Dr. Sjoerd G. Elias and colleagues, from the University Medical Center Utrecht in the Netherlands, note. Compared with women who were not exposed to the famine, severely exposed women were 48 percent more likely to develop breast cancer. The increased risk in the moderately exposed group was much lower, just 13 percent. Timing of exposure seemed to play an important role in determining cancer risk. Specifically, severe exposure between 2 and 9 years of age doubled the risk of breast cancer compared with no exposure at this age. The mechanisms by which caloric restriction may raise the breast cancer risk are unclear, the authors note. They think hormone systems may adapt to deprived circumstances but fail to revert to normal when conditions improve, “ultimately leading to increased risk of breast cancer.” (Source: Journal of the National Cancer Institute: Reuters Health: MedLine Plus: April 2004.)