UTAHN REBUTS YUPPIE LINK TO BREAST CANCER

A national rise in breast cancer reflects yuppie trends toward later childbirth and more childlessness, according to a national cancer specialist.

But a local physician cautions Utahns against trendy reports.Dr. Irene Tocino, chief of mammography at LDS Hospital and chairman of the Utah Breast Cancer Task Force, maintains that 70 percent of women who develop cancer have no risk factors.

Nonetheless, Dr. Louise Brinton, an epidemiologist at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md., believes women should be aware of possible predispositions.

"For the past 30 to 40 years, we have seen a 2 percent increase in the incidence of breast cancer each year," she told the 24th National Conference on Breast Cancer in New Orleans. "Today a woman has 1 chance in 10 of developing breast cancer in her lifetime. This is occurring not only in older women but also in younger women."

Speaking at the meeting, which was sponsored by the American College of Radiology, she theorized that the increase may be linked to the increasing prevalence of certain risk factors as well as the development of more sophisticated diagnostic testing.

Brinton cited four factors that might lead to the increase:

(BU) Greater numbers of women are giving birth for the first time at a later age.

(BU) More women are not having any children.

(BU) Evidence has been found showing a possible link between oral contraceptives and breast cancer.

(BU) Alcohol consumption, especially among younger women, has increased in the female population.

Delaying having children, having no children and alcohol consumption are considered risk factors for breast cancer, Brinton said. Some researchers also have linked fat in the diet to breast cancer. There is also evidence that obese women who are past menopause also are at higher risk for the disease, she said.

Tocino doesn't dispute that some of these factors may contribute to cancer. But she insists there is no conclusive evidence linking the risk factors listed by Brinton and the increased incidence of breast cancer.

Women with a heavy family history of breast cancer or those who have atypical hyperplasia lesions (pre-cancerous conditions) are at much greater risk, she said.

Tocino believes that before women dramatically change their lifestyles or get scared about taking a glass of wine, there needs to be more conclusive evidence as to the cause of cancer.

"What we do know for sure is that cancer cannot be prevented," she said, "but it can be cured if it's detected early."

Brinton's strong advice is this: Regardless of her medical history, every woman past the age of 40 should get a yearly mammogram.

Many are doing just that.

The American Cancer Society says 37 percent of doctors sent patients for routine mammograms in 1989 vs. 11 percent in 1984.

About 150,000 U.S. women - 800 in Utah - will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year, and 44,000 will die of it, the society estimates.