Migraine History and Breast Cancer Risk: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Objective: The relationship between migraine and breast cancer risk has been reported inconsistently across different epidemiological studies. This meta-analysis was performed to explore the overall effect of migraine on breast cancer risk. Method: An electronic search of different major databases was conducted, including PubMed, Scopus, ScienceDirect, and the Cochrane library until February 1st, 2015. Of 652 retrieved studies, six population-based studies including two cohort studies with 130,812 and four case-control studies with 14,396 people were included in the analysis. Results: There was an inverse relationship between migraine and breast cancer risk (OR = 0.77; 95% CI: 0.64, 0.92). Conclusion: The results of this meta-analysis showed that women with migraine history have a decreased risk of breast cancer. Further biological studies are needed to address the association.