Journal of the National Cancer Institute Advance Access originally published online on January 29, 2008
JNCI Journal of the National Cancer Institute 2008 100(3):213-218; doi:10.1093/jnci/djm280
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© The Author 2008. Published by Oxford University Press.
Personality Factors and Breast Cancer Risk: A 13-Year Follow-up
Affiliations of authors: Department of Medical Psychology, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands (EMAB, HMvdP); National Expert and Training Center for Breast Cancer Screening, Nijmegen, The Netherlands (JHCLH, ALMV); Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands (JDMO, ALMV)
Correspondence to: Eveline M. A. Bleiker, PhD, Department of Psychosocial Research and Epidemiology, The Netherlands Cancer Institute—Antoni van Leeuwenhoek Hospital, Plesmanlaan 121, 1066 CX Amsterdam, The Netherlands (e-mail: e.bleiker{at}nki.nl).
Consistent scientific evidence on the possible relationship between psychologic variables and breast cancer development is lacking. In 1996, our group first reported on the present prospective, longitudinal study. We found a weak association between a high score on the antiemotionality scale (indicating an absence of emotional behavior or a lack of trust in one’s own feelings) and the development of breast cancer. No associations were found between any of the other 10 studied personality traits and breast cancer development. However, the study had a relatively short follow-up and did not investigate interaction effects between various personality traits. Therefore, the current follow-up study was conducted with the same cohort, which included the 9705 women who attended a biennial population surveillance program for breast cancer and completed a self-report personality questionnaire between January 1, 1989, and December 31, 1990. Women who developed breast cancer during the period from May 17, 1995, through January 1, 2003, formed the case group (n = 217) and were compared with age-matched women without breast cancer who formed the control group (n = 868) with regard to personality traits and medical risk factors for breast cancer. None of the personality factors were statistically significantly associated with an increased risk of breast cancer, with or without adjusting for the medical risk factors. Also, the occurrence of a combination of various personality traits (eg, a so-called cancer-prone personality) was not related to breast cancer development.
| CONTEXT AND CAVEATS Prior knowledge Associations between personality factors and breast cancer risk have been inconsistent between studies and remain the subject of debate. Study design This is a follow-up report of a prospective study that included 9705 women, of whom 217 were diagnosed with breast cancer between 5 and 13 years after the completion of a personality questionnaire. Possible psychologic and medical risk factors were compared between the 217 case patients and 868 age-matched control subjects. Contribution Personality factors, including the so-called cancer-prone personality risk profile, did not appear to be related to breast cancer incidence. Implications Physicians can use these results to reassure patients that their personality factors (eg, optimism, emotional expression, or depression) do not appear to be associated with the development of breast cancer. Limitations The low response rate to the initial questionnaire may have introduced self-selection bias.
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J. H. C. L. Hendriks is deceased.
The authors had full responsibility for the design of the study, the collection of the data, the analysis and interpretation of the data, the decision to submit the manuscript for publication, and the writing of the manuscript.
Manuscript received July 20, 2007; revised November 15, 2007; accepted November 19, 2007.
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