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Original Articles

The relationship between preeclampsia, pregnancy-induced hypertension and maternal risk of breast cancer: A meta-analysis

, , , , , , , , , & show all
Pages 1643-1648 | Received 18 Jul 2012, Accepted 11 Nov 2012, Published online: 16 Dec 2012
 

Abstract

Background. It has long been recognized that some human breast cancers are hormone dependent. Preeclampsia is a syndrome of pregnancy defined by the onset of hypertension and proteinuria and characterized by dysfunction of the maternal endothelium. Many hormonal changes occur with preeclampsia, and we hypothesize that these changes may influence the risk of maternal breast cancer. We also analyzed the relation between pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH) and maternal risk of breast cancer. Methods. Among 13 relevant publications about preeclampsia and six relevant publications about PIH, some studies find preeclampsia associated with a lower risk of breast cancer, but others did not. Therefore, these results are inconclusive. We conducted meta-analysis to evaluate more precisely the relationship between preeclampsia, PIH and maternal risk of breast cancer. Results. The pooled estimate of the hazard ratio (HR) associated with preeclampsia was 0.86 (95% CI 0.73–1.01), and that associated with PIH was 0.83 (0.66–1.06), both based on the random effects model. Conclusion. Some suggestive but not entirely consistent nor conclusive evidence was found on the association between the history of preeclampsia or PIH with the subsequent risk of breast cancer.

Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.

This study was supported by a grant of the Korean Healthcare Technology R&D Project, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Republic of Korea (A040151).

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