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WEDNESDAY, April 7 (HealthDayNews) -- Short-term famine may be associated with an increased risk of breast cancer, says a Dutch study in the April 7 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

The study found that women who suffered a short but severe decrease of food during the 1944-45 Dutch famine were more likely to develop breast cancer than women who didn't suffer a serious food shortage.

Researchers examined data from about 15,000 women who took part in a Dutch breast cancer screening program between 1983 and 1986. These women were between ages 2 and 33 during the 1944-45 famine.

The study found that the risk of breast cancer among these women was linked to the severity of their famine exposure. Women who experienced severe famine exposure had a 48 percent increased risk of breast cancer, compared with women who weren't affected by the famine.

This association between famine exposure and increased breast cancer risk was greatest among women who were between ages 2 and 9 during the famine. Breast cancer risk was also stronger among women who never gave birth.

The study authors say the actual mechanism for increased breast cancer risk among women exposed to short-term famine is not known. But the researchers suggest that several endocrine systems may adapt to famine conditions, particularly while these systems are developing in young children. These altered endocrine systems may then be inadequately developed to respond to much higher caloric intake later on in life.

The 1944-45 famine in the western Netherlands was caused by a food embargo imposed by occupying German authorities.

More information

The American Cancer Society has more about breast cancer.

(SOURCE: Journal of the National Cancer Institute, news release, April 6, 2004)

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