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Epidemiologic studies have established that pregnancy has a bidirectional, time-dependent effect on breast cancer risk; a period of elevated risk is followed by a long-term period of protection. The purpose of the present study was to determine whether pregnancy and involution are associated with gene expression changes in the normal breast, and whether such changes are transient or persistent. We examined the expression of a customized gene set in normal breast tissue from nulliparous, recently pregnant (0-2 years since pregnancy), and distantly pregnant (5-10 years since pregnancy) age-matched premenopausal women. This gene set included breast cancer biomarkers and genes related to immune/inflammation, extracellular matrix remodeling, angiogenesis, and hormone signaling. Laser capture microdissection and RNA extraction were done from formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded reduction …