Maternal Age at the Last Birth and the Risk for Breast Cancer: A Case Control-Retrospective Study and Mini-Review of the Literature

Abstract

Objective: Maternal age at the last birth and the risk of developing breast cancer were subjects of epidemiologic research, with controversial results. In order to objectively assess the relationship between maternal age at the last birth and the risk of developing breast cancer, we carried out this case control-retrospective study. Material and Methods: In our case-control retrospective analysis, 342 women who visited two breast clinics in Greece and had given birth to live newborns were analyzed. Women with breast cancer were included in the case group, whereas women without the disease were included in the control group. All women underwent a clinical examination that included a breast ultrasound and, in those who were older than 40 years old, also a digital bilateral mammogram was performed. Results: Mann-Whitney test observed that p-value = 0.474 and concluded that there is no statistically significant difference in the distributions of maternal age at birth of the last child of the two groups of women and the risk of breast cancer development. Conclusion: Our study showed no statistically significant relationship between maternal age at the last birth and breast cancer. Further studies with a larger number of patients are mandatory in order to confirm this result.