Key clinical point: Presence of reproductive tract infections had a protective effect against the development of breast cancer (BC) and was associated with a better prognosis in patients with BC.
Major finding: Reproductive tract infections were associated with a lower risk for BC (odds ratio [OR] 0.80; 95% CI 0.65-0.98). Patients with reproductive vs non-reproductive tract infections showed improved overall survival (hazard ratio [HR] 0.61; 95% CI 0.40-0.94), whereas the risk for disease progression was lower in women with reproductive tract infections and >327 vs ≤327 menstrual cycles (HR 0.52; 95% CI 0.34-0.79).
Study details: Findings are from a case-control study including 1003 patients with BC and 1107 cancer-free control individuals and a cohort study including 4264 patients with BC, of which 685 women had a history of reproductive tract infections.
Disclosures: This study was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China and Science and Technology Planning Project of Guangdong Province. The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
Source: Li Y et al. Interaction of reproductive tract infections with estrogen exposure on breast cancer risk and prognosis. BMC Womens Health. 2023;23:238 (May 8). Doi: 10.1186/s12905-023-02383-3