Stress may boost breast cancer risk

Israeli researchers report that young women who experience more than one very stressful life event may be have a higher risk of developing breast cancer.

The researchers studied women between 25 and 45 years old. They asked about stressful life events, including the death of a parent before the age of 20, death of a spouse or other close relative, job loss and divorce. They concluded that young women exposed to adverse life events may be predisposed to breast cancer.

You can learn more in the August issue of the journal BMC Cancer.