Breast cancer is a complex disease with no single cause. Breast cancer researchers believe that a combination of inherited and environmental causes must be present for breast cancer to develop.
Inherited causes can be thought of as internal factors. They are part of the genetic makeup we received from our parents and do not change through life. Examples of inherited causes include genetic mutations and differences in the way our bodies repair cell DNA after it has been damaged. Environmental causes can be thought of as external factors. They affect us throughout our lives. Examples of external factors include our lifestyle and the environment we live in, for example, our level of physical activity, our use of hormone replacement therapy and our exposure to chemicals that are known to change cell DNA.
More research is needed in this area to understand better how inherited and environmental causes work together to result in the cell DNA changes that lead to breast cancer. Research helps to improve our knowledge of breast cancer, giving us a stronger understanding of breast cancer risk and ways to try to reduce the risk.
More Information