Scare tactics over abortion and breast cancer

THE EDITOR: On Saturday, July 10, 2004, TV6 included as a part of its 7 pm news broadcast a segment regarding an anti-abortion press conference held that same day. TV6 accompanied the broadcast with abortion “facts,” in-cluding a statement re-garding research that links abortion and breast cancer. Other media bodies have provided similar assertions, whether through insinuation or “factual” presentation. Because of the highly sensitive nature of both abortion and breast cancer and the extreme importance of accurate awareness on breast cancer and its risk factors, the Family Planning Association would like to provide accurate information on the supposed abortion-breast cancer link. The most notable information on the topic of abortion and breast cancer risk factors comes from the February 2003 “Early Reproductive Events and Breast Cancer” workshop hosted by the American National Cancer Institute and attended by researchers, doctors and over 100 delegates from the world’s leading health organisations.

Among the attendees were the World Health Organisation, the American Cancer Society, the Breast Cancer Coalition and the National Women’s Health Network. The report published by the workshop lists as its finding: “Induced abortion is not associated with an increase in breast cancer risk.” This epidemiological finding was given the highest “Standard of Evidence” rating, denoting the fact that the evidence supporting this conclusion is very well established and not under dispute by any of the signatories. The document in full can be found at http:// www.cancer.gov/cancerinfo/ere-work shop-report. Further evidence listed individually by organisation supports the international conclusions that no risk-connection exists between abortion and breast cancer. “Pregnancies that end as a spontaneous or induced abortion do not increase a woman’s risk of developing breast cancer.”

Summary conclusion of Breast cancer and abortion: collaborative reanalysis of data from 53 epidemiological studies, including 83,000 women with breast cancer from 16 countries. Lancet. 2004 Mar 27;363(9417):1007-16. National Library of Medicine. Http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fgci?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=15051280
“Induced abortion does not increase breast cancer risk.” World Health Organisation Fact Sheet 240, June 2000. Http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs240/en/

“Linking these two topics understandably generates a great deal of emotion, as well as controversy. Research studies, however, have not found a cause-and-effect relationship between abortion and breast cancer.” American Cancer Society Cancer Reference Information, updated March 24, 2004. Http://www.cancer.org/docroot/CRI/content/CRI 2 6x Can Having an Abortion Cause or Contribute to breast Cancer.asp?sitearea
“Early studies of the relationship between prior induced abortion and breast cancer risk have been inconsistent and are difficult to interpret because of methodologic considerations.

More rigorous recent studies argue against a casual relationship between induced abortion and a subsequent increase in breast cancer risk. American College of Gynecologists, 2003. ACOG Committee Opinion. Number 285, August 2003: Induced abortion and breast cancer risk. Obstet Gynecol.2003;102(2):433-5. Accurate information regarding risk and prevention is essential to providing for the health of our nation’s population. Using incorrect information as a scare tactic endangers the effectiveness of breast cancer awareness and prevention campaigns. Promulgating inaccurate or out-of-date information on any topic of sexual and reproductive health threatens not only the efforts of health care providers, but the lives of those they serve.

DONA DA COSTA
MARTINEX
Executive Director
Family Planning Association of Trinidad and Tobago