-
Physicians have always known that hormones, especially the hormone estrogen, play an important part in triggering a migraine, a particularly debilitating form of headache characterized by pain that can't be relieved, a particular "aura" or slight change in vision, and other possible vision problems.
Migraines seem to be triggered by low levels of estrogen. Women having their periods have low levels, and often experience migraines during this time. Women rarely have migraines during the last 3 months of pregnancy, when estrogen levels are highest. Since physicians know that estrogen is also a player in breast cancer, researchers at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle, Washington decided to see if there was any relationship between migraines and breast cancer. - The research was reported in November 2008 in the journal, "Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention" and titled "Migraine in Postmenopausal Women and the Risk of Invasive Breast Cancer." It immediately caught the attention of the scientific community and the press. The researchers surveyed 2,000 women with had breast cancer and 1,500 women with no history of breast cancer. Both groups had gone through menopause. The group found that women diagnosed with at least one migraine in their lives had developed invasive breast cancer 30 percent less often than the group with no migraines.
-
The authors found that the reduced risk among migraine sufferers was consistent, whether or not they had used prescription or over-the-counter medications. The study did not separate women by the medication they had used. This gave rise to the theory put forth by one of the researchers, Christopher Li, a cancer epidemiologist at the Hutchinson Cancer Center, that the frequent use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs like aspirin and ibuprofen might be the protective factor.
Another theory is the authors' first premise: that the same low estrogen levels that cause migraines protect women against breast cancer.
A third theory is that women who were worried about their health--as a migraine sufferer might very well be--go to the doctor more and are more likely to have mammograms. This might be significant if we were talking about breast cancer deaths, which mammograms reduce; but the researchers were surveying women with breast cancer diagnosis, which mammograms increase. - The authors conclude that the data put forth by their study suggests that a history of migraine is connected with a decreased risk of breast cancer, particularly among certain types of breast cancer. They noted that theirs is the first study to examine the possible association between migraines and breast cancer risk, and called for more studies, both to substantiate their results and to perhaps find further information that would be of use in reducing the incidence of breast cancer.
- Sufferers of migraine may have a reduced risk of breast cancer, but they are at greater risk for potentially life-threatening vascular illnesses like heart attack and stroke. Depression and chemical dependence are also more common in migraine sufferers than in the general population. If you suffer from migraines, refrain from smoking, watch your blood pressure and cholesterol, and get adequate exercise to protect you from vascular disease, as well as breast cancer.
