Breast Cancer Prevention (PDQ®) - National Cancer Institute

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Breast Cancer Prevention (PDQ®) - National Cancer Institute

Breast Cancer Prevention

Key Points for This Section

• Avoiding risk factors and increasing protective factors may help prevent cancer.
• The following are risk factors for breast cancer:
  • Being female and older age
  • A personal or family history of breast cancer or benign (noncancer) breast disease
  • Inherited gene changes
  • Dense breasts
  • Estrogen made in the body
  • Combination hormone replacement therapy/Hormone therapy
  • Exposure to radiation
  • Obesity
  • Alcohol
• The following are protective factors for breast cancer:
  • Less exposure to estrogen
  • Exercise
  • Estrogen-only hormone therapy after hysterectomy
  • Selective estrogen receptor modulators
  • Aromatase inhibitors and inactivators
  • Prophylactic mastectomy
  • Prophylactic oophorectomy
  • Bisphosphonates
• It is not clear whether the following affect the risk of breast cancer:
  • Oral contraceptives
  • Environment
• The following do not affect the risk of breast cancer.
• Cancer prevention clinical trials are used to study ways to prevent cancer.
• New ways to prevent breast cancer are being studied in clinical trials.