Previously, we have immunohistochemically (IHC) stained for ER, PR, IGF-1R, and Ki67 in benign breast biopsies within Nurses’ Health Study (NHS) and NHSII and examined the associations with subsequent breast cancer risk.23,24 Here, using the same biomarker data that were generated in the previous studies, we examined the associations of breast cancer risk factors with ER, PR, IGF-1R, and Ki67 expression in histopathologically normal breast epithelium among women with a diagnosis of benign breast disease (BBD) to help elucidate underlying mechanisms for these risk factors. This evidence concerns the gene ESR1 and breast carcinoma.