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OTTAWA - Low rates of breast cancer among Inuit women have researchers looking north for clues to preventing the disease.

But the health secrets of the Inuit may lie in a traditional lifestyle that can't be copied.

Breast-cancer rates among Inuit women in the Northwest Territories are a fifth of the Canadian average, says a Statistics Canada report released yesterday.

Rates for the Canadian female population as a whole have increased steadily since 1969, and now rank among the highest in the world.

Health officials say part of the explanation for the low rates among the Inuit may be found in the age when they give birth and because they breast-feed longer.

"Early pregnancy and breast-feeding may have protective effects against breast cancer," said AndrE9 Corriveau of the Northwest Territories Health Department.

"Inuit women tend to have their first child at a much earlier age than the average southern women."

The Inuit diet may also be a factor. They consume fat from marine animals, which is less harmful than the type of fat commonly found in the diet of most Canadians.

Breast-cancer rates in Asia and Africa are comparable to those of the Inuit. There have been suggestions that the Inuit have genetic protection against breast cancer because of their Asian origin.

However, when women from Asia and Africa migrate to the United States, higher breast-cancer rates are found in their daughters and granddaughters. That suggests there must be some environmental or social factors at work.

"Breast cancer is a disease of the affluent," said Statistics Canada analyst Leslie Gaudette.

Ms. Gaudette said Inuit women have fewer menstrual periods because they have their first child at a young age and because they typically breast-feed until the next child is born. "There's something to do with the hormones around ovulation that may be impacting breast-cancer risk."

University of Toronto scientist Cornelia Baines said environmental contaminants could also play a role. "Clearly there is something about living in most poor countries that protects you, and something about living in North America that's not good for you."

If pollution is the cause, breast-cancer rates among the Inuit will probably rise as chemicals spread around the world, she said.

Scientists are using the statistics on breast cancer to persuade Inuit women not to abandon their traditional way of life, Mr. Corriveau said.