What cause breast cancer?
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We do not yet know exactly what causes breast cancer, but we do know that certain risk factors are linked to the disease. A risk factor is anything that increases a person's chance of getting a disease such as cancer. Different cancers have different risk factors. Some risk factors, such as smoking, can be controlled. Others, like a person's age or family history, can't be changed. But having a risk factor, or even several, doesn�t mean that a person will get the disease.
Some women who have one or more risk factors never get breast cancer. And most women who do get breast cancer don�t have any risk factors. While all women are at risk for breast cancer, the factors listed below can increase a woman�s chances of having the disease.
Gender: Simply being a woman is the main risk for breast cancer. While men can also get the disease, it is about 100 times more common in women than in men.
Age: The chance of getting breast cancer goes up as a woman gets older. Nearly 8 out of 10 breast cancers are found in women age 50 or older.
Genetic risk factors: About 5% to 10% of breast cancers are linked to changes (mutations) in certain genes. The most common gene changes are those of the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes. Women with these gene changes have up to an 80% chance of getting breast cancer during their lifetimes. Other gene changes may raise breast cancer risk as well.
Family history: Breast cancer risk is higher among women whose close blood relatives have this disease. The relatives can be from either the mother�s or father�s side of the family. Having a mother, sister, or daughter with breast cancer about doubles a woman�s risk.
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