Grant: Operating Grant - Priority Announcement: Breast Cancer

Cancer is increasingly common in the developed world; some call the current climate a cancer epidemic. Links between chronic disease and cancer risk have been emphasized at various levels, including the World Health Organization. In terms of susceptibility to cancer, individuals with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) have been shown to have distinct cancer risk profiles. Compared to the general population, current data indicate a slight increase in cancer in SLE overall. Within these data, the most evident increased risk is of hematologic cancers, specifically non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), which has seen a heightened risk of about three times in relation to the general population. In contrast, certain cancers, such as breast, endometrial, and ovarian cancers, may have a decreased risk in persons with SLE, according to recent data, and meta-analyses. Though, in the past 10 years, a lot has been learnt with respect to cancer risk in SLE, yet much remains to be discovered. Currently, evidence exists that both SLE activity itself, and some of the drugs used to treat it, might serve as risk factors for certain alignancies (but potentially some agents could protect against other cancer types, e.g. breast cancer). Though evidence points to a link between systemic lupus (SLE) and a decreased risk of breast cancer, the etiology behind this association is unknown. This provides further motivation for more research in to this complex field. Objectives: The objectives of our proposal are: 1. To describe breast cancer cases from an SLE cohort, with respect to demographics and histology. 2. To assess the importance of exposures to medications in patients with SLE, regarding breast cancer risk. Here we will estimate the effects of selected medication exposures, adjusting for demographics, reproductive history, obesity smoking and other clinical factors (SLE duration and activity).