Pregnancy Protein May Slow Breast Cancer

Nov. 24, 2009 -- New research could help explain how pregnancy protects against breast cancer, and the findings
may one day lead to a novel way to treat the disease.
Investigators from the University of Albany linked the pregnancy protein
alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) to slowed growth of breast cancer in rats exposed to
pregnancy hormones such as estrogen, progesterone, or human chorionic
gonadotropin.
These hormones were shown by the researchers to induce AFP during
pregnancy.
They have also been shown to inhibit breast cancer growth in earlier rat
studies, although estrogen and progesterone are known to fuel the growth of
breast cancer in humans.
Study researcher Herbert Jacobson, PhD, who has been studying AFP in rats
for more than two decades, strongly believes the protein is responsible for the
pregnancy-related reduction in breast cancer risk.
"Twenty-five years ago I deduced that this must be the agent responsible for
lowering breast cancer risk in women who have been pregnant," he tells WebMD.
"And the research we have done since then supports this hypothesis."




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