Can asthma cause breast cancer to spread?

By Mayo Clinic News Network

Researchers at Mayo Clinic are exploring an association between the spread of breast cancer and asthma.

Study results are suggesting a woman with both breast cancer and asthma could be at an increased risk of the cancer spreading to her lungs.

"Women with asthma were getting mets to their lungs almost two times greater in frequency than women who did not have asthma," said James Lee, Ph. D., at the Mayo Clinic.

As to why this is happening, the theory is when you have an allergic asthmatic reaction in your lungs, the blood vessels in your lungs open gateways to allow while blood cells in. If there are any cancer cells circulating in your blood stream, they too can enter the lungs through those gateways. One in the lungs, the cancer cells can begin to grow.

Dr. Lee hopes to determine whether taking anti-inflammatory asthma medication will reduce your chances of developing metastases to the lungs.

Source: http://newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org/discussion/breast-cancer-patients-with-asthma