Abstract
Women whose mothers or sisters have developed breast cancer are themselves at a two- or three-fold increased risk of manifesting breast cancer. Although shown by several studies in the USA and Europe, this observation does not necessarily mean that these women have a genetic susceptibility to the disease which will then be transmitted to their children. Their increased risk may be related to the lifestyle or environment which is shared within a family. In fact, recent research suggests that most familial breast cancer involves a combination of genetic susceptibility and lifestyle factors. Some members of the family inherit a genetic susceptibility to agents which favor the development of breast cancer. It is not clear whether these are chemicals in the environment or food, or the woman’s own circulating hormones.
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© 1995 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
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Stoll, B.A. (1995). Risk from Family History. In: Stoll, B.A. (eds) Reducing Breast Cancer Risk in Women. Developments in Oncology, vol 75. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-0489-0_2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-0489-0_2
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