FRIDAY Oct 26 (Foodconsumer.org) -- Women who breastfeed their first baby can reduce their risk of breast cancer even if the first birth occurs later in life, according to a new study presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research held in Los Angeles.

The study was based on data from women aged 54 on average who participated in the Women’s Contraceptive and Reproductive Experiences (CARE) Study, which was published in 2003.

The protective effect was found after researchers compared the history of breastfeeding and their age at first birth of 995 women with breast cancer and 1,498 women without the disease.

Early studies showed that a first birth after 25 would increase a woman's risk of acquiring hormone-receptor positive breast cancer while having a baby earlier would decrease the risk.

But the current study showed that breastfeeding offers a protection against breast cancer in the mothers regardless of their age or whether they are positive for hormone-receptors or not.

It has been known for long that breastfeeding maturates the mother's breast tissue, which grows immaturely during puberty and pregnancy, increasing its resistance to carcinogenesis in breasts.

Breast cancer is diagnosed in 190,000 American women each year and the disease skills about 50,000 a year.