Humans put much stock in symmetry. People with symmetrical faces, for example, are often seen as more attractive and worthy companion. But the benefits do not end there. According to a new study, women with more symmetrical breasts are less likely to develop breast cancer than those with less breast perfect mirror
Many factors are known to influence the risk of breast cancer :. inherited genetic mutations ( science NOW, November 26, 26 03), the duration of breastfeeding ( science NOW, July 18, 03), and exposure to smoke from cigarette second hand ( science NOW, April 11, 00), for example. Another difference between healthy women and those with breast cancer is that the latter group more asymmetrical breasts. The question was: the breast asymmetry could predict the risk of breast cancer when measured in healthy women
The preliminary results suggest that it could ?. In a study published today in Breast Cancer Research , medical imaging Diane Scutt and Gillian Lancaster, University of Liverpool, UK, and John Manning of the University of Central Lancashire, UK , measured the volume of the breast mammograms of 504 healthy women. breast asymmetry was quite common. Among women who remained healthy breast averaged 53 milliliters, or 2.5%, larger than the other; for those who have developed cancer, the difference was significantly higher: 63 ml or 2.7%. Researchers have estimated that for each difference of 100 milliliters of breast volume, there was a 50% risk.
Such extreme volume difference is found in very few women, Scutt said, noting that other factors must be taken into account when assessing the risk of cancer. Still, she said, doctors may eventually be able to use breast asymmetry measures to monitor women already at high risk of breast cancer.
Anthropologist Robert Trivers of Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey, who is studying the effects of asymmetry, agrees and says that the sense of conclusions; breast asymmetry is caused by changes in estrogen levels, which are also associated with other breast cancer risk factors. He adds that the study is potentially "valuable" to quantify the risk of asymmetry.
Related Sites
- The study
- More information on the risk factors of breast cancer
0 Komentar