Left-handed women may be more at risk from breast cancer, new research suggests.

    BEIJING, Sept. 26 (Xinhuanet) -- Left-handed women are more likely to develop breast cancer before reaching menopause, according to a Dutch study.

    Researchers at the University Medical Center in Utrecht in the Netherlands looked at the relationship between handedness and cases of breast cancer in more than 12,000 healthy, middle-aged women who were born between 1932 and 1941.

    The study, published online Sunday night by the British Medical Journal, found left-handed women were more than twice as likely to develop pre-menopausal breast cancer as non-left-handed women.

    "Our aim was to try to shed some more light on a possible cause for breast cancer, and we were able to show that left-handedness may play a role (among many other causes for breast cancer)," said Dr. Cuno Uiterwaal, senior author of the study and assistant professor of clinical epidemiology at the Julius Center for Health Sciences and Primary Care, University Medical Center in Utrecht, the Netherlands.

    The Dutch researcher added that the finding "may be interesting from an etiological point of view, because we do not know all causes for breast cancer, and it may lead to more clues. However, it is far too early (if at all) to think about practical applications such as screening."

    The origins of the link may lie in exposure to high levels of sex hormones in the womb. This can induce left-handedness as well as cause changes in breast tissue, according to the study.

    About 8 percent to 9 percent of women are left-handed. But the scientists said the findings should not alarm them.

    "What our study intends to do is focus on this area. We do not know all the causes of breast cancer, that is why we should continue. This may be one new factor that leads us to a better understanding of the aetiology (cause of the illness)," Uiterwaal added.

    About 5 percent to 10 percent of breast cancers are hereditary. Most are due to mutations in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes. The earlier the illness is diagnosed and treated, the better the prognosis is for the woman. Enditem

    (Agencies)