BODY-SIZE INDICATORS AND RISK OF BREAST-CANCER ACCORDING TO MENOPAUSEAND ESTROGEN-RECEPTOR STATUS

Associations between the risk of breast cancer and body-size indicator s at the time of breast-cancer diagnosis were assessed among 328 pre-m enopausal or post-menopausal cases and 417 controls participating in t he Kuopio Breast Cancer Study. This case-control study follows the pro tocol of the international Collaborative Study of Breast and Colorecta l Cancer. When the potential confounding factors were taken into accou nt, tallness was related to increased risk of breast cancer, especiall y in post-menopausal women, whereas no clear association with body-mas s index (BMI) was found. Waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) was the most importa nt risk factor in both pre-menopausal and post-menopausal women. The p ost-menopausal cases with high positive estrogen-receptor status (ER(+)) had the highest weight and SMI; they had also the biggest weight g ain since the age of 20. However, the association between WHR and brea st cancer appeared to be independent of estrogen-receptor status. Our results suggest that WHR may be a better marker for breast cancer than the degree of adiposity. (C) 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.