New link between smoking and breast cancer in older women

More research is needed into the link between smoking and the development of breast cancer in women over 50, US scientists said.

The call comes as a new study from the US National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland, found that women who smoked after menopause were 19% more likely to develop cancer.

Read: New link between smoking and breast cancer

DR Sarah Nyante said her study adds to the growing body of evidence of the association between smoking and increased breast cancer risk.

Scientists in the US have established a new link between increased risk of breast cancer in older women and exposure to tobacco smoke.

Read: New link between smoking and breast cancer

The results held true even after accounting for increased alcohol consumption levels, which has already been established as a risk factor.

Former smokers were found to have a 7% higher chance of developing the deadly disease than those who had never smoked.

• US scientists who tracked the progress of 186,000 women aged between 50 and 71 found that those who smoked were 19% more to develop breast cancer than those who had not ever smoked
• Women who previously smoked but had managed to give up were 7% more at risk

A study in the US has found that smoking increases the risk of breast cancer in older women by almost 20%.

The study adds to a growing weight of evidence linking exposure to tobacco smoke and deadly disease.