Fwd: [RD] NYTimes.com Article: Study Suggests Breast Cancer Is Linked to Use ...

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Frequent use of antibiotics has been linked to a greaterrisk of breast cancer, say researchers who studiedthousands of American women and found that those who tookthe drugs most often had twice the risk of the disease.The study uncovered a relationship between greater use ofantibiotics and a heightened risk of breast cancer, butresearchers sought to temper their findings by cautioningthat they had only highlighted an association, not a causallink. "This is potentially worrisome, but we don't know why thisconnection exists, we only have an observation," said Dr. D. Potter, director of the division of public healthsciences at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center inSeattle and an author of the report. "At the moment, weneed to see these results replicated with more researchbefore drawing any conclusions."The study, published in the latest issue of The Journal ofthe American Medical Association, is now the second to drawa connection between antibiotics and breast cancer.In 2000, scientists in Finland found that women youngerthan 50 who had taken antibiotics for urinary tractinfections also had an elevated risk for getting thedisease. But the research had several limitations and leftscientists with a number of questions, including whetherthe phenomenon could be tied to all classes of antibiotics.In the latest study, researchers pored over the medicalrecords of over 10,000 adult women in the state ofWashington, including 2,266 with breast cancer.As the number of antibiotic prescriptions a subject hadfilled went up, they found, her risk for breast cancerclimbed. Those who had more than 25 prescriptions over anaverage of 17 years were twice as likely to get thedisease. And women who filled some prescriptions but fewerthan 25 had a 50 percent higher risk than those who had notused any. The trend applied to all forms of antibiotics."It was a dosage-response trend: the higher the usage, thehigher the risk," said Dr. M. Velicer, a researchassociate at the Group Health ative's Center forHealth Studies and the lead author of the study. "Somethingappears to be going on here that we need to study further."The news comes at a time when health officials at the WorldHealth Organization and elsewhere have suggested thatantibiotic use has spiraled out of control and could createdire consequences, a warning that the latest findings mayhelp to reinforce. Across the globe, penicillin and other antibiotics thatattack bacteria are being prescribed in vain to treat viraldiseases that they are useless against. That trend, someresearchers say, has led to the emergence of moreaggressive bacteria that can resist traditionalantibiotics. "It's well known that there is a tendency to use thesedrugs against the common cold and other things they're noteffective for," Dr. Potter said. "What we found should notbe used as evidence to base medical or health policydecisions on, but it is a reminder about misusingantibiotics." What role the drugs play in the onset of cancer, if any, isstill open to debate. Dr. Potter said that he suspectedthey might diminish levels of bacteria in the intestinesthat help protect the body from cancer. Another theory isthat women who use antibiotics more often are naturallypredisposed to breast cancer because they have weakerimmune systems or hormonal imbalances.At the same time, the study did rule out a number of riskfactors commonly associated with the disease, like age, afamily history of cancer, and contraceptive use.One expert, Dr. , a physician at the City ofHope National Cancer Center near Los Angeles, said moreresearch needed to be done to see if the findings bear out.But in the meantime, Dr. said, it would be a boon toofficials trying to persuade doctors and patients not tooveruse antibiotics. "It's going to cause physicians to bemore careful about doling out prescriptions," he said. "Butpeople shouldn't read too far into this. They still need totake their antibiotics."http://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/17/health/17CANC.html?ex=1078009365 & ei=1 & en=dbd7cc114521ac60---------------------------------Get Home Delivery of The New York Times Newspaper. Imaginereading The New York Times any time & anywhere you like!Leisurely catch up on events & expand your horizons. Enjoynow for 50% off Home Delivery! Click here:http://www.nytimes.com/ads/nytcirc/index.htmlHOW TO ADVERTISE---------------------------------For information on advertising in e-mail newslettersor other creative advertising opportunities with TheNew York Times on the Web, please contactonlinesales@... or visit our online mediakit at http://www.nytimes.com/adinfoFor general information about NYTimes.com, write tohelp@.... Copyright 2004 The New York Times Company