Background: Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women, that is, 12 percent of women are at risk for the breast cancer. Iron may induce oxidative stress via production of reactive oxygen species, facilitating carcinogenesis. Iron overload, wich was previously uncommon, has become common in many countries. Since the iron fortification of flour and bread is one of the major development goals, the aim of this study was to examine the effect of excess iron on breast cancer.

Materials and Methods: Web sites of Google Scholar and Medline were searched for the related articles.

Results: Free iron is peroxide that can cause oxidative stress and damage to DNA. Long-term consumption of iron can lead to iron overload in body. In addition, women's iron stores rise after menopause. Although studies have confirmed the carcinogenic effect of iron on animal, all the epidemiological studies have not confirmed it.

Conclusion: Reactive oxygen species produced by normal aerobic cellular metabolism can lead to the release of free iron from ferritin. In addition to its independent role as a proxidant, high levels of free iron may potentiate the effects of estradiol, ethanol and ionizing radiation -three risk factors for breast cancer. Many studies have shown that the high levels of free iron in body may lead to breast cancer or fibrocystic changes in women especially after menopause.