Relative risk represents how much higher the risk of breast
cancer is for a person who has the particular factor compared
to a person who does not. Please note that an individual is considered
to be at high risk by our clinical definition if they have one
or more major risk factors despite age or multiple minor risk
factors.
Major Risk Factors
(Greater than a two-fold increase in relative
risk)
- Inherited genetic mutations (BRCA1 and BRCA2)
- First degree relative (i.e. mother, sister, daughter)
with a cancer diagnosis under the age of 60
- Chest radiation under the age of 30
- Precancerous biopsy
- Personal history of breast or ovarian cancer
- Age of greater than 60
Minor Risk Factors
(Greater than a one-fold,
but less than a two-fold increase in relative risk)
- Long menstrual history (menstrual periods start early
and end late in life)
- Never having children
- Having one’s first child after the age of 30
- Use of postmenopausal hormone replacement therapy for
a prolonged period of time (especially combined estrogen
and progestin therapy)
- High alcohol intake
- Postmenopausal obesity
- Multiple second and third degree relatives with breast
and/or ovarian cancer
- Multiple breast biopsies
- High breast tissue density (a mammographic measure of
the amount of gradular tissue relative to the fatty tissue
of the breast)
- Vitamin D deficiency
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The University of Kansas Medical Center