Abstract
Menarche and menopause age and duration of menstrual life have been examined in a series of 4,000 consecutive cases of breast carcinoma, hospitalized in the Cancer Institute of Milan from 1928 to 1957. The same examination was performed on 2,788 patients hospitalized in the same period for non-tumour affections or for benign and malignant tumours in organs non dependent on endocrine stimulation. A good agreement was found in the age distribution of breast cancer patients and controls. In breast cancer patients the average age of menarche and menopause was observed to be 13.646 and 47.905 years respectively; in control patients, 13.831 and 47.220. 1 out of 4,000 cases of breast cancer (0.025 per cent) and 6 out of 2,788 controls (0.36 per cent) had never been menstruated. The duration of the menstrual life was 34.256 years for breast cancer patiens and 33.389 years for control patients (with a prolongation of 0.867 years for cancer patients).
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