ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, January 9, 1997 TAG: 9701100027
SECTION: NATL/INTL PAGE: A-2 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: BOSTON
A large study has concluded that an abortion is unlikely to raise a woman's risk of breast cancer, as many have feared.
The new research, conducted in Denmark, is by far the biggest and most sophisticated examination yet of this contentious issue.
Earlier studies have conflicted, but taken together, they suggest that abortion raises a woman's breast cancer risk by about 30 percent. However, those studies have been criticized because they depend on women speaking honestly about whether they have had abortions - something some may not do.
Some researchers believe that cancer victims are more likely than healthy women to acknowledge having had an abortion because they've already disclosed other intimate medical details to their doctors. That would tend to make the risk of breast cancer after an abortion look higher than it really is.
The new study gets around the issue of lying by relying solely on medical records.
``It is pretty clear from this study that there is no overall increased risk for the majority of women who have had induced abortions,'' said Dr. Mads Melbye of Statens Serum Institute in Copenhagen.
The study was possible because everyone in Denmark gets an identification number. Researchers can easily identify each woman who has had an abortion or breast cancer.
They found 1,338 cases of breast cancer in the 280,965 women who had undergone abortions, and 8,908 cases among those who had not. There was no difference in risk between the two groups.
- Associated Press
LENGTH: Short : 38 linesby CNB