A new systematic review and meta-analysis of 36 Chinese studies has found that the overall risk of developing breast cancer among women who had at least one induced abortion was significantly increased by 44 per cent.
The results, published in the peer-reviewed international journal Cancer Causes and Control, found that the risk of breast cancer increased by 76 per cent following two terminations, and 89 per cent following three or more terminations.
Consistent
Dr. Yubei Huang and his colleagues, who conducted the review, concluded that the findings “were consistent with a previously published systematic review.” A 1996 review and meta-analysis of worldwide studies, published in the British Medical Association’s epidemiology journal, found that abortion increased the risk of breast cancer in women by 30 per cent.
Dr Joel Brind, who compiled the 1996 review with colleagues from Penn State Medical Center said that the Chinese study was a “real game changer.”
Validation
“Not only does it validate the earlier findings from 1996, its findings are even stronger, for several reasons,” he said.
The Chinese study also follows two recent studies from India and Bangladesh which reported that the risk of breast cancer among women who had any induced abortions increased by 600 per cent and over 2,000 per cent respectively.
Dr Huang's team also highlighted that their study differed from a meta-analysis conducted by Dr. Valerie Beral and her colleagues in 2004, which claimed there was no link between breast cancer and abortion.
Their study was strongly criticised by four experts in seven medical journals independently of one another.
Sources:
Related stories: