title: Breast cancer risk and immune responses in healthy women.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To summarize the findings of objective and subjective breast cancer risk assessments and their association with psychological distress and immune responses in healthy women with a family history of breast cancer.
  
  
  METHODS
  Published articles and book chapters.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Healthy women with a family history of breast cancer have shown decreased immune responses (i.e., low natural killer cell activity and low Th1 cytokine production), exaggerated biophysiologic reactivity to stimuli, and increased psychological distress.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Objective and subjective breast cancer risk is associated with impaired immune responses and exaggerated biophysiologic responses in healthy women with a family history of breast cancer. Increased psychological distress can contribute further to negative immune responses. Additional studies are warranted to substantiate and extend the findings based on more comprehensive assessments of objective and subjective breast cancer risk.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Biophysiologic assessment is a useful approach for nurses in early identification of women at risk for breast cancer and developing appropriate strategies to reduce the risk.
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing, University of Alabama at Birmingham, USA. najinp@uab.edu
authors.forename: Na-Jin
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Duck-Hee
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Kang
mesh_terms: D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000276:immunology* / Q000451:nursing; D006801:Humans; D009859:Oncology Nursing; D012307:Risk Factors; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000276:immunology* / Q000451:nursing