Pooled estimates of family History and the risk of Breast cancer (Meta analysis Approach)

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in females worldwide. Breast cancer has large number of etiological factors increasing the risk. An increased risk of breast cancer in women with a family history of breast cancer has been demonstrated by many studies using a variety of study design.
The objective is to quantified the risk of breast cancer associated with a family history of the disease, and to summerize the evidence from these studies. Data sources: Fifteen case-control studies published between 2000-2010 were retrieved through Pubmed and previous reviews were included in the meta-analysis. Positive family history was taken as risk category. The results of fifteen case-control studies pooled to determine the relationship between family history and risk of breast cancer. The overall odds ratio along with 95% CI of fixed effect model was 1.63(1.44-1.84) and the pooled estimate of random effect model was 2.20(1.51-3.23). Test of heterogeneity Q = 104.81 (P<.001) statistically different and I2 was 86.6%. Conclusion: A patient family history may aid clinical diagnosis and contribute to disease risk assessment and prediction. Therefore it is possible that identifying people with a family history of disease could act as a additional motivator for them to change their lifestyle or participate in disease screening.