New study says link may exist between antibiotics and breast cancer
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According to a new study, heavy use of antibiotics may increase a woman's risk of developing breast cancer.
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From "Wolf Blitzer Reports" correspondent Jennifer Coggiola:
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Among the known high-risks associated with breast cancer -- hormone replacement therapy, family history, and alcohol abuse -- a new possible red flag for women has emerged.
When a new study on antibiotics and the risk associated with breast cancer came out this week, Joan Dressler, who's been taking antibiotics for more than three decades, had some questions for her doctor.
"When he shared the news, I of course thought of myself and my future and looked backwards and said, 'Oh my goodness I've been doing this for 30 years,' and I'm not sure exactly what that means."
According to the new study published by the Journal of the American Medical Association, heavy use of antibiotics may increase a woman's risk of developing breast cancer.
The study looked at 10,000 women over eight years and found that those that took the highest amounts of antibiotics the longest, faced twice the risk of developing breast cancer than those that didn't.
"It's as strong as any of the risk factors that we know. To put it into perspective, the risk for developing breast cancer from hormone replacement use is about a 30 to 40 percent increase in risk. And here we're talking about a doubling in risk of those women who are using chronic antibiotics," says Dr. Roberta Ness, an epidemiologist at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health.
Health experts caution that the findings do not prove that antibiotic use is a cause of breast cancer, and stress that women should not stop taking antibiotics.
"If a woman really needs antibiotics and she and her doctor believe that's the best course of action, that definitely is an appropriate outcome at this point in time," says Dr. Christine Velicer, a lead author of the JAMA study.
For Dressler, who takes antibiotics for her adult acne, she says she has no plans on cutting back, and will take a "wait and see" approach.
"Part of me is afraid, and the other part of me wants to hold tight on a positive treatment program and watch carefully," says Dressler.
Researchers in the study cautioned that the new data only shows there is an association between the antibiotics and cancer, and that the study should be repeated with the results duplicated before we draw any conclusions.
