Brief Summary
Dr. Tasha discusses the risk factors associated with breast cancer, the most common cancer among women globally. She categorizes these risk factors into modifiable and non-modifiable categories, detailing how lifestyle choices and genetics play roles in the disease's development.
- Modifiable risks include alcohol consumption, obesity, menstruation patterns, pregnancy, breastfeeding, and physical activity.
- Non-modifiable risks include genetic mutations and age, with women being at a significantly higher risk than men.
Dr. Tasha introduces the topic of breast cancer, highlighting its prevalence among women. She emphasizes the importance of understanding risk factors that may contribute to the development of this disease, categorizing them into modifiable and non-modifiable types.
The discussion begins with modifiable risk factors. Excessive alcohol consumption is notably linked to breast cancer, with women consuming two to three drinks daily facing a 20% higher risk. One drink daily presents a smaller increase in risk. Specific alcohol amounts, like two units, are defined as a double measure of spirits, a pint of lower-strength beer, or a standard glass of wine. Obesity is another risk factor as higher estrogen levels from fat tissue can increase breast cancer risk, particularly in postmenopausal women.
Dr. Tasha explains that early menarche (starting menstruation early) and late menopause result in more menstrual cycles, thus higher lifetime estrogen exposure, leading to increased cancer risk. Conversely, women having children and breastfeeding can reduce their risk; having more children and breastfeeding longer (1.5 to 2 years) appears to lower the risk due to fewer menstrual cycles.
Low physical activity is also flagged as a concern, with evidence suggesting that inactivity may heighten breast cancer risk.
The chapter transitions to non-modifiable risks. Genetic mutations, specifically in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, account for 5-10% of breast cancer cases, with women carrying these mutations facing a 55-65% risk of developing the disease by age 80. Age itself is a risk factor; the likelihood of developing breast cancer increases with age, with 80% of cases found in women over 50.
Dr. Tasha highlights that being female is the greatest risk factor, as the disease is significantly more common in women due to their larger breast tissue volume compared to men.
To minimize the overall risk of developing breast cancer, Dr. Tasha underscores that while preventing the disease entirely may not be possible, certain actions can help reduce risks. Regular exercise is beneficial, with recommendations for at least 150 minutes weekly. Any form of movement is encouraged, including walking and gardening.
Limiting alcohol consumption to 14 units per week for healthy women is advised, with lower limits (5 units) for women who have had breast cancer. Dr. Tasha reiterates the importance of maintaining a healthy weight, not only for reducing breast cancer risk but for improving overall health and decreasing the risks of other diseases.
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Transcript
Full transcript of “What Causes Breast Cancer? - with Dr Tasha”. Click a timestamp to open the video at that moment. Need another video? Use the YouTube transcript generator.
0:00 breast cancer is the most common cancer that affects women worldwide if you want to know what these risk factors are of developing this disease then stay tuned hi my name is Dr Tasha and I'm a breast surgeon here to talk about health in general and breast cancer specifically so there are many risk factors linked to breast cancer development a risk factor can be defined by anything that affects the chances of that individual getting the disease so let's get through them you can broadly categorize these risks as modifiable and non-modifiable I those within your control and those outside of your control let's start with the modifiable risks excessive alcohol consumption increases risk research has shown that the risk is directly linked
0:45 to the amount of alcohol consumed women who have two to three drinks a day have approximately a 20% high risk of breast cancer compared to women who don't drink alcohol women who have only one alcoholic drink a day have have a very small increase risk it is estimated that drinking two units a day causes one extra woman out of every 50 to develop breast cancer so what's in two units this equates to a double measure of spirits a pint of lower strength beer and about a standard glass of wine it is not entirely clear how alcohol affects breast cancer risk although some theories suggest that it might change the hormone levels in the body including estrogen there for increasing risk being
1:31 excessively overweight or obese is a risk factor again this is a complex area and it is thought to be secondary to the increase of level of estrogen in the body estrogen is mainly produced by ovaries in the premenopausal setting estrogen level significantly reduces as women approach the menopause in the postmenopausal setting women's estrogen mainly comes from fat tissue and so increas in fat tissue especially in the postmenopausal setting is thought to raise estrogen levels hence breast cancer risk being overweight also tends to increase blood insulin levels which is linked to certain cancers including breast cancer early menarchy and late menopause increases risk if you start menstruating early in life or you enter
2:19 menopause later in life this essentially means that you will have more menstrual cycles this in turn means that you will have a longer lifetime exposure to estrogen increasing your risk of breast cancer pregnancy and breastfeeding we know that having children overall low is the risk of breast cancer the more children you have the lower the risk similarly breastfeeding May reduce breast cancer risk especially if it is continued for 1 and a half to 2 years again it is a possibility that the effect is due to the reduction in a woman's total number of Lifetime menstrual cycles low physical activity there is increasing evidence to suggest that inactivity increases breast cancer
3:05 risk we know that physical activity reduces the risk of breast cancer recurrence in those who have had breast cancer treatment and so it follows that inactivity increases risk now there are of course risks that we can't control in other words non-modifiable risks 5 to 10% of breast cancers are due to an inherited genetic mutation the omous cause of hereditary breast cancer is an inherited mutation in the braa 1 or braa 2 Gene women will carry a lifetime risk of about 55 to 65% of developing breast cancer with a braa 1 gene mutation and about 45% with the braa 2 gene mutation on average a woman with a braa one or 2
3:50 gene mutation have about a 70% risk of developing breast cancer by the age of 80 age is also a risk of developing breast cancer as you get older the greater the risk and this is borne out by the fact that 80% of breast cancers develop in women over the age of 50 but the main risk of developing breast cancer is by virtue of being a woman this disease is about 100 times more likely to occur in women than in men and that's because women have more breast tissue than men so what can you do to minimize your risk of developing breast cancer it is important to note though that you can't necessar neily prevent breast cancer from developing but you can do your best to reduce the risk as mentioned before there are lots of
4:36 evidence emerging suggesting the benefit of exercise in minimizing breast cancer risk we also know that exercise reduces the risk of cancer recurrence after treatment the wh recommends 150 minutes of exercise per week but honestly any movement is better than no movement at all and exercise doesn't always equate to going to to the gym walking gardening anything really that gets you moving reduce alcohol consumption the recommendation is to limit drinking alcohol to 14 units per week if you're healthy and a woman if you have had breast cancer the recommendation is not more than five units per week of alcohol and so to recap two units equate to a
5:22 double measure of spirits a pint of lower strength beer or cider and about a standard glass of water wi and then maintaining a healthy weight this is not only to minimize breast cancer risk but also to reduce risks of other diseases such as cardiovascular disease as well as diabetes I hope this has been helpful I'll see you in the next one
