Oncology Frontier: Aging is a definite risk factor for cancer. Is breast cancer also a disease of aging? Could you explain the possible reasons for that?

　　《肿瘤瞭望》：年龄是癌症的肯定危险因素。乳腺癌也是一种老年病吗？请向我们解释一下可能的机制?

　　Dr Muss: Breast cancer to me is a disease of aging. In fact， for all adult human cancers， the incidence per 100000 people rises dramatically with age. Breast cancer is similar to that. We don’t really know why but I suspect that as we age we accumulate damage to our DNA and we become more prone to cancer risks. If you are fortunate to reach an old age， you unfortunately take on a higher cancer risk.

　　Muss教授：对于我而言，乳腺癌就是一种老年病。事实上，成年人会患上的所有癌症的发病率都会随着年龄增加而显著增加。乳腺癌也不例外。原因如何我们并不清楚，但我推测是由于衰老过程中，DNA损伤的堆积所致，同时人的癌症风险因素增加。所以，得享高龄，你是幸运的；但同时你患癌症的风险增加，你也是不幸的。