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Epidemiologic studies have suggested that multiple relations exist among environmental factors, exposure to estrogen, body habitus, pregnancy, and risk for developing breast cancer. Preclinical evidence also has implicated prolactin in the etiology of breast cancer: Prolactin increases cell proliferation, inhibits apoptosis, enhances tumorigenesis, and increases tumor-cell motility, metastasis, and angiogenesis. Data from both the Nurses’ Health Study (NHS; started in 1976 with 121,700 female registered nurses [age range, 30–55] enrolled) and a Swedish study suggest that higher plasma prolactin levels are associated with higher risk for breast cancer, particularly in older patients (age, >45). The association appears to be strongest for est…