Epigenetic and Immune Mechanisms Linking Breastfeeding to Lower Breast Cancer Rates

05 November 2024 : Review article

Laura Maria Surdacka

^1ABCDEF, Adam Jakubas

^1CDEF, Jakub Jagiełło

^1CDEF, Karolina Daniłowska

^1CDEF, Natalia Picheta

^1CDEF, Paulina Gil-Kulik

^2ADEG*

DOI: 10.12659/MSM.945451

Med Sci Monit 2024; 30:e945451

Introduction Epidemiology of Breast Cancer Development and Changes in Mammary Gland Breast Structure Breast Development in the Prenatal Period Breast Development in the Postnatal Period Breast Development in Puberty Breast Development in Pregnancy Hypotheses on the Protective Mechanisms of Breastfeeding Protective Effects of Hormones on Breast Tissue Protective Effect of Cellular Changes – Increased Differentiation of Breast Cells Protective Effect of Breast Milk Components Breast Stem Cells: Characteristics, Phenotype, Signaling Pathways, and Their Association with Breast Cancer Signaling Pathways and Their Association with Breast Cancer Pregnancy-Induced Changes in Breast Stem Cells and Their Protective Role Future Directions: Mammary Stem Cells as a Potential Target for Therapy Conclusions References

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Table 1 Hypothesis on the protective mechanisms of breastfeeding.

Theory	Mechanism
Antibodies in the mother’s milk	Increased immune vigilance – fighting cancer cells
Lactoferrin	Inhibition of the NF-κB pathway
HAMLET	Activation of tumor cell apoptosis
NF-κB – nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells; HAMLET – human alpha-lactalbumin made lethal to tumor cells.

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