Studies show a link between high bone density and a higher risk of breast cancer. However, it's not that strong bones themselves increase risk. It's that high bone density is an indicator of elevated blood estrogen, which is an important breast cancer risk factor (for more information on estrogen and breast cancer risk, click here). The more estrogen a woman produces in her lifetime, the more bone mass she has. While higher bone density is associated with a lower risk of osteoporosis, it may also be a marker for a higher risk of breast cancer. Studies suggest that women with the highest bone density have about twice the breast cancer risk of those with the lowest bone density [57-63].
Updated 09/14/09
