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It's been known for decades that breastfeeding and childbirth reduce the risk of breast cancer. Now medical researchers are gaining clues on why and hoping these insights could help create a pill to mimic the protective effects of nursing.
In October, researchers based in Australia found women who breastfed had more specialized immune T-cells in their breast tissue. Prof. Sherene Loi, a medical oncologist and the study's lead author, likened the cells to "local guards, ready to attack abnormal cells that might turn into cancer."
Loi hopes her findings could help prevent breast cancer in all women, regardless of whether or not they had children.
The study, published in the journal Natu
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