Women who suffer regular migraines may have the comfort of knowing they face a much lower risk of breast cancer, say researchers from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle. However they warned more work is needed to confirm the link.
The study on 3,412 women suggests a 30% lower risk for people with a history of disabling headaches. The researchers are the first to look at whether this might have an effect on the chances of developing breast cancer, which, in two of its most common forms is fuelled by the hormones estrogen and progesterone.
Their group of women included 1,938 who had been diagnosed with breast cancer and 1,474 who had no history of the disease.
Women were asked to report whether they had ever been diagnosed with migraines by a health professional. Those with a history of migraines were far less likely to go on to develop breast cancer.
Source: BBC News, 6 November 2008
Chapter: Cancer :: 25 November 2008
