| 9/17/2002 Milk, Pregnancy, Cancer May be Tied - 9/10 Reuters The finding could explain why women who have had children have a lower risk of cancer — something doctors have noticed but been unable to explain, Dr. Michelle Holmes, who led the study, said. Pregnancy, HRT use and milk drinking all affect levels of insulin-like growth factor 1 or IGF-1, a hormone linked to an increased risk of cancer, Holmes and colleagues report in the journal Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention, which is published by the American Association for Cancer Research. “This is the first study to report that the more pregnancies a women had, the lower was her blood level of IGF-1,” Holmes said. “Pregnancy is known to protect against several cancers such as breast and colon cancer. It is possible that the mechanism of this protection could be through lowering IGF-1 levels.” Women who had four or more pregnancies had IGF-1 levels that were on average 15 percent lower than in women who had never been pregnant, the researchers found. MILK CONSUMPTION IS KEY Using data from a large, long-term study of more than 1,000 nurses who record their diets carefully and who are then watched for changes in health, Holmes’ team also found that those who drank the most milk had higher levels of IGF-1. IGF-1 is important to the growth and function of many organs, but higher levels have been associated with an increased risk of prostate, colon, lung and breast cancer. “We concluded that greater milk consumption was associated with higher levels of IGF-1,” said Holmes. “This association raises the possibility that diet could increase cancer risk by increasing levels of IGF-1 in the blood stream. However, more research must be done to determine whether milk consumption itself is directly linked to cancer risk.” Related Link: http://www.reuters.com |
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