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“The whole process of pregnancy and breastfeeding changes your immune system,” Loi said. Loi believes that during breastfeeding, microbes in the baby’s saliva, as well as viruses and mastitis, create an environment in which T-cells migrate to breast tissue. “These cells act like local guards, ready to attack abnormal cells that might turn into cancer,” she said of the study, which also involved researchers from the Doherty Institute and Walter and Eliza Hall Institute. “This protection may have evolved to defend mothers during the vulnerable post-pregnancy period, but today it also lowers breast cancer risk, especially the aggressive type called triple-negative breast cancer.”
