It doesn't seem like there could be any good news about getting a migraine. But there may be for women. Researchers know there's a link between migraines and hormones. And that might mean protection from breast cancer.
Erin Baranick is 28 and gets about five migraines a month, "They can last for a few hours and sometimes you know with the right medication and taken at the right moment, I can get them in the beginning, but sometimes I have ones that can last all day."
Erin says her migraines can be incapacitating, but new research shows they may help protect her against breast cancer. "We found that women who have a history of migraine had a 26-percent lower risk of breast cancer, compared to women who didn't have a history of migraine," says Dr. Christopher Li, MD, PhD.
Doctors studied 4,500 women with breast cancer, ages 35 to 64, from five different cities around the country. "We don't know the exact biological reasons for why women with a history of migraine would have a lower risk of breast cancer. We think it might have something to do with hormones," says Dr. Li.
"Hormones play a very important part in women's migraines," says neurologist Sylvia Lucas, who treats migraine patients. "That's great news. In fact, the inverse relationship between breast cancer-migraine, that is, if you have migraine you're much less likely to get breast cancer was startling. And really surprising."
It's also great news for patients like Erin, who has a family history of breast cancer. "I think if I have migraines that are unavoidable and it will help me avoid you know a possible other medical complication down the road, there is no bad news in that," says Erin.
Researchers will now look at the different types of migraines women get to see if timing, intensity, or severity play a role in protecting against breast cancer. The study also looked at lifestyle behaviors that might trigger migraines like alcohol consumption, smoking and hormone replacement therapy. It found the association between migraine and reduced risk for breast cancer was independent of those factors.
