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(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Family history is a well-known risk factor for breast cancer, but it may also determine whether you survive the disease.
New research from Sweden suggests if a woman dies from breast cancer her daughters or sisters are more than 60 percent more likely to also die from the disease if they develop it.
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The study looked at 2,787 pairs of mothers and daughters and 831 pairs of sisters who were diagnosed with breast cancer between 1961 and 2001.
Results show a woman's prognosis of breast cancer predicts her first-degree relatives' survival of the disease. Researchers found mothers who survived breast cancer after five years had daughters with a 91 percent chance of surviving it, but only 87 percent of daughters whose mothers had died within five years survived.
The study also found if your sister dies of breast cancer within five years you have a 70 percent chance of surviving the disease, but your chances improve to 88 percent if she survives. Overall, women with a poor prognosis meant their first-degree relatives had a 60 to 80 percent higher chance of dying from breast cancer within five years.
Researchers say besides genetics, risk factors like obesity and hormone replacement therapy probably play a role in who develops the disease and how they respond to it.
This article was reported by Ivanhoe.com, which offers Medical Alerts by e-mail every day of the week. To subscribe, click on: http://www.ivanhoe.com/newsalert/.
SOURCE: Breast Cancer Research, published online June 28, 2007
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