title: Use of antibiotics and risk of breast cancer.
abstract: A recent nested case-control study found that increasing use of antibiotics was associated with a significantly elevated risk of breast cancer. The authors attempted to replicate this finding with a similar study design using the General Practice Research Database in the United Kingdom. Women aged 30-79 years who were registered in the database between January 1995 and December 2001 comprised the study cohort. A total of 3,708 women with incident cases of breast cancer and 20,000 frequency-matched controls were entered into a nested case-control analysis. Use of antibiotics was not associated with an increased risk of breast cancer. For categories of increasing cumulative days of use (1-50, 51-100, 101-500, and >or=501 days), the corresponding odds ratios were 1.0 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.9, 1.1), 1.0 (95% CI: 0.8, 1.1), 0.9 (95% CI: 0.7, 1.0), and 1.2 (95% CI: 0.9, 1.6) (p = 0.31 for trend). On the basis of these results, antibiotic use does not appear to be a major determinant of breast cancer risk.
authors.affiliation: Spanish Center for Pharmacoepidemiologic Research, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: L A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: García Rodríguez
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: González-Pérez
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000453:epidemiology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008875:Middle Aged; D018570:Risk Assessment; D006113:United Kingdom / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents