UC Santa Cruz study finds link between pregnancy and reduced breast cancer risk
SANTA CRUZ — A recent UC Santa Cruz study, published in Nature Communications scientific journal, uncovered clues in a decadeslong mystery surrounding the relationship between early pregnancy and breast cancer risk. Early pregnancy, between the ages of 20 and 30, has been shown to reduce the risk of breast cancer later in life. The reason why has stumped scientists for years. Now, a research group from UC Santa Cruz has found evidence suggesting that early pregnancy can permanently change the way breast cells age, preventing the accumulation of a type of cells that may contribute to tumor growth. Shaheen Sikandar is an assistant professor at UC Santa Cruz. (Courtesy Shaheen Sikandar) Shaheen Sikandar, an assistant professor of molecular, cell and developmental biology at UC Santa Cruz, noticed a gap in breast cancer research. Though many studies had looked at aging and breast cancer risk, most of those studies were done on mice that had never been pregnant. “That reall...