A significant proportion, estimated to be anywhere between 14 to 15 percent of the global population, reportedly grapples with migraines quite frequently.(1) Migraine is a complex neurological condition that is typically characterized by intense headaches and various accompanying symptoms that can significantly disrupt your day-to-day functioning.(2)
Numerous studies in the past have often established associations between migraine episodes and an elevated susceptibility to many other health conditions, including stroke, high blood pressure, epilepsy, tinnitus, and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).(3,4,5,6,7)
Furthermore, past research has shown that there might be a potential correlation between individuals experiencing migraine headaches and a heightened risk of certain cancers, especially breast cancer.(8)
Now, adding to this extensive body of research, scientists from the Cancer Center at West China Hospital of Sichuan University in China have unveiled a recent study that sheds light on a possible genetic connection between migraine and breast cancer. The findings from this study have been published in the journal BMC Cancer.(9)
Understanding the Impact of Migraine Attacks on your Health
Migraine attacks are marked by intense headaches, often throbbing or pulsating, primarily affecting one side or a specific area of the head. These episodes can persist for hours or sometimes even for days at a time. Migraine attacks are also sometimes accompanied by many other debilitating symptoms.
Stages and Symptoms of Migraine Attacks:
- Pre-Attack Stage: Preceding a migraine attack, individuals may experience mood changes, dizziness, increased thirst, and heightened sensitivity to light and sound.
- Aura Stage (25 percent of cases): Some individuals encounter an aura stage, marked by disturbances affecting vision, touch, and speech abilities.(10)
- Headache Stage: The hallmark stage involves severe head pain on one or both sides, lasting several hours to days.
- Postdrome Stage: Following the headache stage, a postdrome phase ensues, characterized by fatigue, dizziness, concentration difficulties, body aches, and feelings of depression.
Migraine’s Impact on the Nervous System
- Potential Sensory Processing Disorder: Migraine’s impact on the sensory nervous system has been observed in studies, potentially contributing to sensory processing disorders.(11,12)
- Impact on the Autonomic Nervous System: Research suggests that migraine headaches can affect the body’s autonomic nervous system, governing unconscious functions like breathing and heartbeat, possibly leading to dysregulation of these essential processes.(13,14)
- Profound Impact on Daily Life: Due to their severity and duration, migraines can significantly disrupt everyday life. The combination of debilitating symptoms, including intense pain, nausea, vomiting, and sensitivity to light and sound, can lead to substantial impairment, affecting work, social activities, and overall well-being.(15)
Understanding the various effects of migraine attacks on the body’s nervous systems underscores the profound impact these episodes can have on physical health and quality of life. Efforts to manage and mitigate the impact of migraines often involve a comprehensive approach addressing symptoms and improving overall health and well-being.
Exploring the Complex Relationship between Migraine and Breast Cancer
The potential link between migraine and breast cancer has sparked the interest of many researchers in recent years due to the shared associations with estrogen level fluctuations. Both conditions have been linked to changes in estrogen levels, with high estrogen levels potentially elevating the risk of breast cancer.
Estrogen Levels and Impact:
- Estrogen Influence on Breast Cancer Risk: High estrogen levels have been correlated with an increased risk of breast cancer, contributing to the exploration of its connection with both migraine and breast cancer.
- Estrogen’s Effect on Migraine Severity: Migraine attacks in women can be influenced by changing estrogen levels during menstrual cycles, menopause, or pregnancy, affecting the severity and frequency of these episodes.(16)
Mixed Findings from Studies:
Over the recent years, multiple studies have investigated the potential correlation between migraine and breast cancer, yielding varied results:
- Study carried out in April 2023: Revealed a higher risk of specific subtypes of breast cancer among women with migraine, along with an earlier onset of breast cancer.(17)
- Another study carried out in April 2023: Indicated a slightly lower risk of breast cancer, particularly hormone receptor-positive breast cancer, among individuals with migraine.(18)
- Meta-analysis Study carried out in February 2022: Suggested an inversely proportional relationship between migraine and the overall risk of breast cancer.(19)
- Study carried out in December 2018: Associated a significantly increased risk of breast cancer among women experiencing frequent medical visits for migraine.(20)
Complexities in Interpretation of the Results:
The mixed findings underscore the complexity of understanding the relationship between migraine and breast cancer. The variability in outcomes across studies highlights the complex nature of these conditions, influenced by diverse factors beyond estrogen levels.
The complicated interplay between hormonal fluctuations, genetic predispositions, and other contributing factors necessitates further comprehensive research to shed more light on the potential associations between migraine and breast cancer. Understanding these connections could offer valuable insights into the shared mechanisms and aid in developing targeted preventive strategies or interventions.
Potential Genetic Connections: Migraine’s Impact on Breast Cancer Risk
In a recent study, researchers harnessed data from genome-wide association studies (GWAS) involving individuals affected by migraine and breast cancer to explore potential genetic links between these conditions.(21)
Let us look at the study data and methodology employed by the research team.
- Migraine Genetic Data: The study compiled data from five combined research endeavors, encompassing over 102,000 individuals with migraine and more than 771,000 controls.
- Breast Cancer Genetic Data: Utilizing data from the Breast Cancer Association Consortium (BCAC), genetic information from around 250,000 distinct breast cancer cases was analyzed.(22) All data originated from study participants who were of European descent.
- Undertaking a Mendelian Randomization Analysis: Using Mendelian randomization analysis, the researchers sought to uncover a potential causal relationship between migraine and breast cancer.(23)
Study Findings:
The study’s conclusion revealed noteworthy associations between migraine and breast cancer risk, including:
- Overall Breast Cancer Risk: Women experiencing any type of migraine demonstrated an elevated risk of developing both overall breast cancer and estrogen receptor (ER)-positive breast cancer.(24)
- Migraine without Aura and ER-Negative Breast Cancer: Specifically, women with migraine headaches lacking aura displayed an increased risk of ER-negative breast cancer, suggestive of a potential association with overall breast cancer risk.(25)
These findings sheds light on a genetic connection between migraine and increased breast cancer risk, particularly in relation to specific breast cancer subtypes. The study’s utilization of Mendelian randomization offers valuable insights into potential causative links between these conditions, emphasizing the importance of genetic factors in understanding disease associations.
Understanding the genetic underpinnings linking migraine and breast cancer risk provides a foundation for further research aimed at clearing up the exact mechanisms involved. Such insights hold further promise for refining the risk assessment strategies and potentially guiding targeted interventions for those people who are at an elevated risk due to migraine-related factors.
Conclusion
The recent study proposed a genetic link between migraine and breast cancer, sparking interest and discussion among medical experts all over the world. However, the study’s retrospective and associative nature has made its conclusions speculative. The challenge lies in establishing a correlation between the common issue of migraines and breast cancer. There is a need for replication in diverse populations in order to draw more definitive conclusions from a study like this.
Nevertheless, experts have hailed this study’s use of a substantial database to explore genetic variations associated with breast cancer and migraines. At the same time, it is important to remember that finding an association does not necessarily imply causation and the extent of increased risk may also involve multifaceted factors which may impact a person’s risk of breast cancer.
There is no doubt that the findings of the study are intriguing and even hint at potential avenues for future research. However, there is a need for further investigations across diverse populations in order to properly understand the complex contributors to breast cancer. The study serves as a base for future studies that may reveal important insights into the complex relationship between migraines, genetics, and breast cancer.
- Steiner, T.J. and Stovner, L.J., 2023. Global epidemiology of migraine and its implications for public health and health policy. Nature Reviews Neurology, 19(2), pp.109-117.
- Thakur, K.T., Albanese, E., Giannakopoulos, P., Jette, N., Linde, M., Prince, M.J., Steiner, T.J. and Dua, T., 2016. Neurological disorders. Disease Control Priorities,, 4, pp.87-107.
- Øie, L.R., Kurth, T., Gulati, S. and Dodick, D.W., 2020. Migraine and risk of stroke. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry, 91(6), pp.593-604.
- Rist, P.M., Winter, A.C., Buring, J.E., Sesso, H.D. and Kurth, T., 2018. Migraine and the risk of incident hypertension among women. Cephalalgia, 38(12), pp.1817-1824.
- Huang, Y., Xiao, H., Qin, X., Nong, Y., Zou, D. and Wu, Y., 2017. The genetic relationship between epilepsy and hemiplegic migraine. Neuropsychiatric disease and treatment, pp.1175-1179.
- Campello, C.P., Lemos, C.A.A., Andrade, W.T.L.D., Melo, L.P.F.D., Nunes, G.R.D.S. and Cavalcanti, H.G., 2022. Migraine associated with tinnitus and hearing loss in adults: a systematic review. International Journal of Audiology, pp.1-7.
- Bin Abdulrahman, K.A., Alenazi, N.S., Albishri, S.B. and Alshehri, F.F., 2022. Association of migraine and irritable bowel syndrome in Saudi Arabia: a nationwide survey. BioMed Research International, 2022.
- Elser, H., Skajaa, N., Ehrenstein, V., Fuglsang, C.H., Farkas, D.K. and Sørensen, H.T., 2022. Cancer risk in patients with migraine: A population‐based cohort study in Denmark. Headache: The Journal of Head and Face Pain, 62(1), pp.57-64.
- Fang, T., Zhang, Z., Zhou, H., Wu, W., Ji, F. and Zou, L., 2023. Effect of genetic liability to migraine and its subtypes on breast cancer: a mendelian randomization study. BMC cancer, 23(1), p.887.
- Kikkeri, N.S. and Nagalli, S., 2022. Migraine with aura. In StatPearls [Internet]. StatPearls Publishing.
- Koop, L.K. and Tadi, P., 2019. Neuroanatomy, sensory nerves.
- Genizi, J., Halevy, A., Schertz, M., Osman, K., Assaf, N., Segal, I., Srugo, I., Kessel, A. and Engel-Yeger, B., 2019. Sensory processing difficulties correlate with disease severity and quality of life among children with migraine. Frontiers in Neurology, 10, p.448.
- Miglis, M.G., 2018. Migraine and autonomic dysfunction: which is the horse and which is the jockey?. Current pain and headache reports, 22, pp.1-7.
- Waxenbaum, J.A., Reddy, V. and Varacallo, M., 2019. Anatomy, autonomic nervous system.
- Estave, P.M., Beeghly, S., Anderson, R., Margol, C., Shakir, M., George, G., Berger, A., O’Connell, N., Burch, R., Haas, N. and Powers, S.W., 2021. Learning the full impact of migraine through patient voices: a qualitative study. Headache: The Journal of Head and Face Pain, 61(7), pp.1004-1020.
- Nappi, R.E., Tiranini, L., Sacco, S., De Matteis, E., De Icco, R. and Tassorelli, C., 2022. Role of estrogens in menstrual migraine. Cells, 11(8), p.1355.
- Ilieva, M.B., Tiberio, P., Torrisi, R., Lanzone, J., Di Piero, V., Santoro, A., Viganò, A. and De Sanctis, R., 2023. Profiling the Spectrum of Headache Disorders on 440 Breast Cancer Patients: Highlights on Clinical and Pathological Mechanisms. Biomedicines, 11(4), p.1059.
- Peng, C., Wu, K., Chen, X., Lang, H., Li, C., He, L. and Chen, N., 2022. Migraine and risk of breast cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Clinical Breast Cancer.
- Hesari, E., Ahmadinezhad, M., Arshadi, M., Azizi, H. and Khodamoradi, F., 2022. The association between migraine and breast cancer risk: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Plos one, 17(2), p.e0263628.
- Fan, C.Y., Lin, C.S., Huang, W.Y., Lin, K.T., Chao, H.L., Tsao, C.C., Liu, M.Y., Tsai, I.J. and Kao, C.H., 2018. Association between migraine and breast cancer risk: a population-based cohort study and literature review. Journal of Women’s Health, 27(12), pp.1499-1507.
- National Human Genome Research Institute (2015). Genome-Wide Association Studies Fact Sheet. [online] Genome.gov. Available at: https://www.genome.gov/about-genomics/fact-sheets/Genome-Wide-Association-Studies-Fact-Sheet.
- Cam.ac.uk. (2020). BCAC – Breast Cancer Association Consortium. [online] Available at: https://bcac.ccge.medschl.cam.ac.uk/ [Accessed 11 Dec. 2023].
- Sanderson, E., Glymour, M.M., Holmes, M.V., Kang, H., Morrison, J., Munafò, M.R., Palmer, T., Schooling, C.M., Wallace, C., Zhao, Q. and Davey Smith, G., 2022. Mendelian randomization. Nature Reviews Methods Primers, 2(1), p.6.
- Brufsky, A.M. and Dickler, M.N., 2018. Estrogen receptor‐positive breast cancer: Exploiting signaling pathways implicated in endocrine resistance. The oncologist, 23(5), pp.528-539.
- American Cancer Society (2021). Breast Cancer Hormone Receptor Status | Estrogen Receptor. [online] www.cancer.org. Available at: https://www.cancer.org/cancer/types/breast-cancer/understanding-a-breast-cancer-diagnosis/breast-cancer-hormone-receptor-status.html.
Also Read:
- Breast Cancer: Types, Causes, Risk Factors, Signs, Symptoms, Stages, Treatment, Prevention
- What Is The Recovery Time For Breast Cancer Surgery?
- What are the Side Effects of Surgery for Breast Cancer?
- Can You Still Get Breast Cancer After A Double Mastectomy?
- Treatment Of Breast Cancer
- 7 Tips for Breast Cancer Risk Reduction
- What are the 5 Stages of Breast Cancer?
- Link Between Breast Cancer Therapies and Heart Disease : Risks and Precautions
