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Meta-Analysis
. 2016 May 17:6:25998.
doi: 10.1038/srep25998.

Plasma prolactin and breast cancer risk: a meta- analysis

Minghao Wang  1 , Xiujuan Wu  1 , Fan Chai  1 , Yi Zhang  1 , Jun Jiang  1
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

Plasma prolactin and breast cancer risk: a meta- analysis

Minghao Wang et al. Sci Rep. .

Abstract

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women, and its incidence is on a constant rise. Previous studies suggest that higher levels of plasma prolactin are associated with escalated risk of breast cancer, however, these results are contradictory and inconclusive. PubMed and Medline were used to search and identify published observational studies that assessed the relationship between plasma prolactin levels and the risk of breast cancer. The pooled relative risks (RRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated using a fixed-effects or random-effects model. A total of 7 studies were included in our analysis. For the highest versus lowest levels of plasma prolactin, the pooled RR (95% CI) of breast cancer were 1.16 (1.04, 1.29). In subgroup analyses, we found a positive association between plasma prolactin levels and the risk of breast cancer among the patients who were postmenopausal, ER(+)/PR(+) or in situ and invasive carcinoma. However, this positive association was not detected in the premenopausal and ER(-)/PR(-) patients. In conclusion, the present study provides evidence supporting a significantly positive association between plasma prolactin levels and the risk of breast cancer.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Flow chart of study selection.
Figure 2
Figure 2. Meta-analysis of 7 studies that assess the association of plasma prolactin levels with breast cancer risk.
Figure 3
Figure 3. Forest plot for sensitivity analysis.
Figure 4
Figure 4. Forest plot for publication bias.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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