Blood Test May Help Define Breast Cancer Risk in Older Women, Brigham and Women's Hospital Study

The effort to develop a blood test to reveal a woman's risk for breast cancer may be one step closer to fruition, but is still far from becoming a reality, according to a new study. The researchers found that blood hormone tests may predict the risk for developing postmenopausal breast cancer up to 20 years after a blood sample was taken. But the study has limitations and needs to be replicated and expanded, said Dr. Xuehong Zhang, lead author and an epidemiologist at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston.