Among them, C-reactive protein (CRP) was more likely to be associated with invasive breast cancer and its transition to death from breast cancer (HR for the highest quartile = 1.46, 95 % CI = 1.07–1.97), while testosterone and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) were more likely to impact the early state of breast cancer development (Testosterone: HR for the highest quartile = 1.31, 95 % CI = 1.12–1.53; IGF-1: HR for the highest quartile = 1.17, 95 % CI = 1.00–1.38). Here, CRP is linked to breast cancer.