Question
My sister has a white blood cell count which is usally around 3,000 to 4,000 since she has been on methotrexate. She takes methotrexate injections 20mg per week. Could either of these or the combination of these two make her more susceptible to breast cancer. She recently had a breast biopsy done for a breast mass. Thankfully it came back negative. Should she talk to her rheumatologist about decreasing her MTX dose? or Is this totally unrelated?
Answer
Methotrexate has never been linked to an increased risk of breast cancer. It can cause mild lowering of white blood count. A count of 3000 to 4000 is not dangerous. It just needs to be watched.
