Annals of Epidemiology
Volume 20, Issue 1 , Pages 82-85, January 2010

Serum Calcium and Breast Cancer Risk in a Prospective Cohort Study

  • Brian L. Sprague, PhD

      Affiliations

    • Department of Population Health Sciences and Paul P. Carbone Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI
    • Corresponding Author InformationAddress correspondence to: Brian Sprague, 610 Walnut St., WARF Room 307, Madison, WI 53726. Tel.: 608-263-0815; Fax: 608-265-5330.
    • ,
  • Halcyon G. Skinner, PhD

      Affiliations

    • Department of Population Health Sciences and Paul P. Carbone Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI
    • ,
  • Amy Trentham-Dietz, PhD

      Affiliations

    • Department of Population Health Sciences and Paul P. Carbone Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI
    • ,
  • Kristine E. Lee, MS

      Affiliations

    • Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI
    • ,
  • Barbara E.K. Klein, MD

      Affiliations

    • Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI
    • ,
  • Ronald Klein, MD

      Affiliations

    • Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI

Abstract

Calcium has anti-proliferative and pro-differentiation effects on mammary cells in vitro and can inhibit the development of mammary tumors in mice. While there is some epidemiologic evidence for an inverse relation between dietary calcium intake and breast cancer risk, only one previous study has examined serum calcium levels in relation to breast cancer risk. We investigated this relation in a prospective cohort study of 2,762 women, aged 43–86, who were enrolled in the Beaver Dam Eye Study in 1988 and followed for up to 19 years. We found no evidence for an association between breast cancer risk and either total (hazard ratio, HR = 0.98; 95% CI: 0.60–1.60; 4th vs. 1st quartile) or ionized (HR = 0.85; 95% CI: 0.53, 1.38; 4th vs. 1st quartile) serum calcium levels. Additionally, we found no evidence for an association among subgroups defined by menopausal status and body mass index.

Key Words: Breast cancer, Calcium, Cohort study, Molecular epidemiology, Vitamin D

Selected Abbreviations and Acronyms: HR, hazard ratio, CI, confidence interval, BMI, body mass index

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 This study was supported in part by faculty startup funds from the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine & Public Health, National Institutes of Health grants U10 EY006594 and R01 AG11099, and grant POP0504237 by the Komen for the Cure Breast Cancer Foundation.

PII: S1047-2797(09)00305-6

doi:10.1016/j.annepidem.2009.09.001

Annals of Epidemiology
Volume 20, Issue 1 , Pages 82-85, January 2010

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