The hormone that heralds pregnancy could offer a way to prevent breast cancer, experts believe. It is already known that having a baby by the age of 20 cuts a woman’s future risk of breast cancer in half. US scientists at the Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, have shown this protection is down to hCG, which is produced by the placenta in pregnancy. Their rat studies revealed how hCG changes breast cells’ DNA, making them more resilient to cancerous changes. This is because breast cells do not reach full maturity until a woman has had a full-term pregnancy, they told the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research. Their study confirmed that the protection conferred was specific to the hormone hCG and was not found with other female hormones. In the future, it might be possible to offer women who do not wish to or are unable to have a baby, the same protection using this knowledge, the researchers hope.
