There’s an intricate connection between breast cancer and pregnancy. In a study, researchers explain why women who change into first-time moms later in life have a better long-term risk of breast cancer than those that change into mothers early.

Studies show that young first-time moms, those that are below the age of 24 during their initial pregnancy, experience a substantially lower long-term risk of breast cancer (roughly 20-35%) in comparison with women who haven’t had kids.

Nonetheless, because the age of first-time moms goes up, the breast cancer risk also progressively increases, with a 5% spike in risk every five years.

“In recent many years, women have begun having children later due to societal changes and private preferences. Previous research has found that that is related to a heightened breast cancer risk,” Dr. Biancastella Cereser, a lead creator of the study, said within the news release.

“Our own research delves into the genetic mysteries that govern this risk. We found that the human breast, like other organs, accumulates mutations with age, but additionally that pregnancy has a further effect, meaning that older first-time moms might need a better likelihood of developing harmful changes of their breast cells in comparison with other women,” Cereser said.

In the most recent study, published within the journal Nature Communications, researchers analyzed the cellular and genetic changes that occur to healthy breast cells as they turn cancerous. After sequencing 29 frozen healthy breast tissues from donors, the team found that with age, these healthy breast tissues accumulate mutations, at the speed of around 15 mutations every 12 months. Although nearly all of these mutations don’t affect the genes and aren’t cancer-causing, with more time, there may be a greater likelihood of getting driver mutations related to cancer.

“This may not be enough to cause cancer by itself. But, pregnancy could provide a ‘double whammy’, since it induces a rapid expansion of breast cells, in preparation for breastfeeding. If cells harboring driver mutations replicate and expand, they may have a competitive advantage over neighboring non-mutated cells, potentially resulting in a runaway effect, and ultimately making a cancerous tumor,” Cereser explained.

Published by Medicaldaily.com