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Breastfeeding is safe for women who have been treated for breast cancer, two studies have shown for the first time.

Even cancer survivors at higher genetic risk do not face an increased risk of recurrence or development of new breast cancers if they choose to breastfeed, researchers reported at the European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO) meeting in Barcelona.

One study of nearly 5,000 young breast cancer survivors carrying a high-risk BRCA gene mutation identified 474 who subsequently gave birth, one in four of whom breastfed their baby. Just under half were unable to breastfeed because both breasts had been removed to reduce future cancer risk. After a median follow-up of seven years from giving birth, there was no difference in the number of breast cancer recurrences, new breast cancers or overall survival in women who breastfed compared to those who did not.

“With this new information, we can debunk the myth that breastfeeding is neither possible nor safe for breast cancer survivors,” Dr Fedro Alessandro Peccatori of the European Institute of Oncology IRCCS in Milan, who worked on the study, said in a statement.

“They can have a normal pregnancy and relationship with their baby, including breastfeeding.”

A second study included 518 women who temporarily interrupted their breast cancer treatment to have a baby. Of those, 317 had at least one baby and 62 per cent of them breastfed. At two years from the first live birth, the proportion of women with breast cancer recurrence or new breast cancer was similar in those who breastfed (3.6pc) and those who did not (3.1pc).

Other recent studies have shown that neither assisted-reproduction treatments nor pregnancy itself are associated with an increased risk of recurrence or new cases of breast cancer.