Decreasing Age of Puberty may Up Breast Cancer Risk

Maturation at earlier age for girls leaves them exposed to longer reproductive period and longer life time exposure to female hormone. This is a definite risk factor for development of breast cancer in ladies. the researchers are unable to find the exact cause of early puberty in girls.

clipped from www.medpagetoday.com Signs of Puberty Seen Earlier in White Girls A longitudinal study of more than 1,200 girls examined between 2004 and 2006 found that 10.4% of the white 7-year-old girls had begun to mature — as determined by the presence of palpable breast buds — according to Frank Biro, MD, of Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, and colleagues. Increases in body mass index may be to blame for earlier maturation, Biro told MedPage Today. Another possibility is exposure to endocrine disruptors from household and personal care products, Biro said, although future studies will try to definitively identify reasons for a declining age at the initiation of puberty. Early puberty (specifically early age at menarche) is considered a risk factor for breast cancer. This is thought to be partly due to greater lifelong exposure to female hormones (estrogen and progesterone) and to susceptibility of rapidly developing breast tissue to environmental exposures