Relationship between Migraine History and Breast Cancer Risk among Premenopausal and Postmenopausal Women
- Christopher I. Li1,
- Robert W. Mathes1,
- Kathleen E. Malone1,
- Janet R. Daling1,
- Leslie Bernstein2,
- Polly A. Marchbanks5,
- Brian L. Strom6,
- Michael S. Simon7,
- Michael F. Press3,
- Dennis Deapen4,
- Ronald T. Burkman8,
- Suzanne G. Folger5,
- Jill A. McDonald5 and
- Robert Spirtas9
- 1Division of Public Health Sciences, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, Washington; 2Division of Cancer Etiology, City of Hope National Medical Center; Departments of 3Pathology and 4Preventive Medicine, Keck School of Medicine and Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California; 5Division of Reproductive Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia; 6Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics and Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; 7Division of Hematology and Oncology, Karmanos Cancer Institute at Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan; 8Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Baystate Medical Center, Springfield, Massachusetts; and 9Contraception and Reproductive Branch, Center for Population Research, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, NIH, Department of Health and Human Services, Bethesda, Maryland (retired)
- Requests for reprints:
Christopher I. Li, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, 1100 Fairview Avenue N., M4-C308, P.O. Box 19024, Seattle, WA 98109-1024. Phone: 206-667-7444; Fax: 206-667-5948. E-mail: cili{at}fhcrc.org
Abstract
Both migraine and breast cancer are hormonally mediated diseases, and it is biologically plausible that women with a history of migraine may have a reduced breast cancer risk. However, this relationship has only been assessed in a single relatively small study that was unable to assess the effect of migraine triggers, which are also well-established breast cancer risk factors (e.g., use of alcohol and exogenous hormones), on the inverse association observed. Utilizing data on 4,568 breast cancer cases and 4,678 controls who participated in a multicenter population-based case-control study in the United States, we evaluated the association between migraine history and breast cancer risk using unconditional logistic regression. Migraine history data were obtained from structured in-person interviews. Women with a history of migraine had a reduced risk of breast cancer [odds ratio, 0.74; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.66-0.82]. This risk did not differ by menopausal status, age at migraine diagnosis, use of prescription migraine medications, or when analyses were restricted to women who avoided various migraine triggers (including alcohol, exogenous hormones, and smoking). These data support a previous finding that a history of migraine may be associated with a reduced risk of breast cancer. It extends the prior report in observing that this relationship holds for both premenopausal and postmenopausal women and is independent of exposure to common migraine triggers. (Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2009;18(7):2030–4)
Footnotes
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Grant support: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, with additional support from the National Cancer Institute, through contracts with Emory University (N01-HD-2-3168), Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center (N01-HD-2-3166), Karmanos Cancer Institute at Wayne State University (N01-HD-3-3174), the University of Pennsylvania (N01-HD-3-3176), and the University of Southern California (N01-HD-3-3175); and through an intraagency agreement with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Y01-HD-7022). The Centers for Disease Control contributed additional staff and computer support. The findings and conclusions in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The collection of cancer incidence data in California used in this publication (University of Southern California Los Angeles County portion of this study) was also supported by the California Department of Health Services as part of the statewide cancer reporting program mandated by the California Health and Safety Code Section 103885. The ideas and opinions expressed herein are those of the authors, and no endorsement by the State of California, Department of Health Services, is intended or should be inferred.
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- Accepted April 21, 2009.
- Received March 30, 2009.
- Revision received April 15, 2009.
