Quick fix for breast cancer set to revolutionize treatment

Breast cancer patients could be escape major surgery thanks to a new 10-minute operation.

While the patient is under local anaesthetic a pencil-sized probe is inserted into the tumour and blasts it with liquid nitrogen. Encased in a frozen ball, the tumour is destroyed within seconds and the
patient can go home.

At present even small tumours have to be removed under general anaesthetic leaving a disfiguring three-inch scar. When the tumour is killed by freezing, the dead cells are absorbed into the body so the breast keeps its shape. One doctor who uses the technique says patients are left with hardly a mark.

It is due to arrive in Britain later this year. Doctors hope the procedure will be used routinely in five years.

“Patients think it is fantastic. We biopsy the tumour then treat it all in a few minutes. After a few days it is almost impossible to see where the probe went in,” the Daily Express quoted US-based surgeon Dr Andrew Kenler, who uses cryotherapy at Bridgeport Hospital, Connecticut, part of Yale University, as saying.

Bigger boobs can lead to breast cancer

A study of 16,000 women revealed that genetic mutations associated with breast size are linked to the disease. Researchers say some of these are involved in regulating the female sex hormone- estrogen, which can trigger the growth of both breasts and tumours, reports the Daily Mail. While

research has previously linked breast density, which is the amount of non-fat tissue, to an increased risk of cancer, there has been little evidence of a link with breast size.

Participants in this study carried out by a US company, were asked to give their bra size on a 10-point scale from smaller than AAA to larger than DDD. The genetic code of the women, who were all of European origin, was read by scientists who looked through millions of tiny mutations in their DNA, called single-nucleotide polymorphisms. Out of the seven that were strongly linked to breast size, three were also associated with breast cancer.

As reported by the Daily Mail, Dr Nicholas Eriksson of the California-based genetics firm 23andMe shared that it was the first substantial link between breast size and cancer, but added that much more research is needed before it could be strongly concluded.

He tells the daily that one out of the three mutations regulates the activity of the oestrogen receptor gene that plays a vital role in breast growth and in majority of breast cancer cases. Another is located in a region of a woman’s genome that often shows abnormalities in those with certain types of breast cancer.

The link was seen regardless of the women’s age, pregnancy and breastfeeding history and genetic ancestry, according to the study published in the journal BMC Medical Genetics.

However, the study’s lead author, Karin Michels, told The Daily Mail that these results did not mean those with small breasts could assume they were safe and urged all women to go for regular breast cancer screening.

Night shift elevates breast cancer risk

Women who did night shifts had a higher risk of developing breast cancer, as compared to sisters who worked in daytime, according to a study.

"Our work has corroborated the results of previous studies and poses the problem of taking night work into consideration in public health management, especially since the number of women working a typical hours is on the increase," states Pascal Guenel, of Inserm (Institut National de la Sante et de la Recherche Medicale), who led the study.

Breast cancer is the number one cause of female mortality. It affects 100 out of 100,000 women per year in developed countries. Every year, more than 1.3 million new cases are diagnosed, 53,000 of these in France, said a university statement.

Inserm researchers examined the effect of night work on the health of 3,000 women in France between 2005 and 2008, including each period of night work. Over 11 percent of women had worked nights at some time during their career.
This increased risk was particularly marked in women who had worked nights for over four years, or in women whose working rhythm was less than three nights per week, because this led to more frequent disturbances between night and day rhythms.

Finally, the link between night work and breast cancer seemed to be more marked when we looked at women who had worked at night prior to a first pregnancy.

An explanation for this result could be that the mammary cells, incompletely differentiated in women before their first pregnancy, are more vulnerable.

New mutation behind breast cancer identified

Scientists have discovered a new gene that may increase the risk of breast cancer.


In the study from Finland, mutations in this gene, called Abraxas, were linked to cases of hereditary breast cancer.

Researchers have now identified more than 10 genes that increase breast cancer risk; perhaps the most well-known of these are the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes.

But only about 20 percent of women with a family history of breast cancer have mutations in BRAC1 or BRAC2 — meaning in many cases, it’s likely other genes are at work.

The mutation does not appear to be common — it was found in 2.4 percent of families with a history of breast cancer. But importantly, the mutation was not found in anyone without breast cancer in the study.

Because the study was conducted in Finland, future studies will need to investigate how common the mutation is in other countries, said study researcher Roger Greenberg, an associate professor of cancer biology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.

In the future, women with a family history of breast cancer might be tested for the Abraxas mutation, Greenbergsaid.

Greenberg and colleagues found the Abraxas mutation in three of 125 breast cancer patients from families with a history of the condition.

This gene had been suspected to play a role in breast cancer risk because it interacts with BRCA1.

When the researchers looked at an additional 991 breast cancer patients, they found the Abraxas mutation in one woman, who also turned out to have breast cancer in her family.

None of the 868 healthy patients in the study had the Abraxas mutation.

The mutated Abraxas gene prevents cells from fixing damaged DNA, increasing the risk that a cell will become cancerous. The gene may increase the risk of other cancers as well.

Indeed, one patient in the study was diagnosed with both breast and endometrial cancer, and some patients with the Abraxas mutation had family members with lung cancer, lip cancer and lymphoma.

More research is needed to know exactly how much of an increase in breast cancer risk the Abraxas mutation brings. But Greenberg noted women in the study with this mutation were diagnosed around the same age as those with BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations — in their mid-40s.

Women with a mutation in BRCA1 or BRCA2 are about five times more likely to develop breast cancer in their lifetimes compared with women who do not have this mutation, according to the National Cancer Institute.

“Identifying more of these mutations will make it easier for patients to know their risk of developing breast cancer,” said Dr. Kristin Byrne, chief of breast imaging at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, who was not involved in the study.

Such genetic information may even help doctors better diagnose breast cancer. Most patients with the Abraxas mutation in the study had a type of breast cancer called lobular carcinoma, which is harder to detect on a mammogram. Knowing that a patient has this mutation might mean doctors use additional screening methods, such as MRI, Dr Byrne added.

The study has been published in the journal Science Translational Medicine.

5 Shocking Signs of Breast Cancer

Breast Cancer

Women are always told to be careful about Breast lumps, which is an important sign of Breast Cancer. Andrew Putnam, Director of Palliative Care Program at Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center and Georgetown University says that Lump may not be the first sign of Cancer. Putnam further says that this Lump is found deep in the Breast Tissue, sometimes the surrounding tissue is dense, due to which Lump is not felt. Inflammatory Breast Cancer has other symptoms so be careful about all other signs too.

More alcohol ups risk of breast cancer recurrence

Moderate to heavy alcohol consumption may trigger increased risk of breast cancer recurrence.

Post-menopausal or overweight women may be most susceptible to the effects of alcohol on recurrence, said the study conducted by Marilyn L Kwan, Kaiser Permanente research scientist.

"Women previously diagnosed with breast cancer should consider limiting their consumption of alcohol to less than three drinks per week...," says Kwan.

Kwan and colleagues examined the effects of alcohol on cancer recurrence and mortality in the Life After Cancer Epidemiology (LACE) Study.

LACE is a prospective study of 1,897 early-stage breast cancer survivors diagnosed with early-stage invasive breast cancer between 1997 and 2000.

The researchers recruited participants from the Kaiser Permanente Northern California Cancer Registry. Information on wine, beer and liquor consumption was documented via questionnaires.

Each year, participants also filled out information on health outcomes, including recurrence of breast cancer, which was then verified by their medical records.

After eight years of follow-up, Kwan and colleagues found 349 breast cancer recurrences and 332 deaths.

Among drinkers (50 percent of participants), wine was the most popular choice of alcohol (90 percent), followed by liquor (43 percent) then beer (36 percent). Increased risk of cancer recurrence was most predominant among those who consumed two or more glasses of wine per day.

The increased risk of recurrence appeared to be greater among participants who were postmenopausal and overweight or obese, and was present regardless of type of alcohol, says a Kaiser Permanente release.

These findings were presented at the CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, held from December 9-13

Protein that supports breast cancer growth identified

Fox Chase Cancer Center researchers have demonstrated that a protein may be required for some of the most aggressive forms of breast cancer to grow.

The findings, based on the study of a mouse model of breast cancer, have been presented in a recent issue of Cancer Research.

“For the first time, we have been able to present evidence that directly demonstrates reduced levels of NEDD9 in a living animal that limit the appearance of aggressive metastatic breast cancer,” says co-author Erica A Golemis, PhD, Fox Chase professor and co-leader of the Molecular Translational Medicine Program.

According to Golemis, the protein could serve as a biomarker, a molecule that could be detected to indicate the diagnoses of aggressive forms of breast cancer in the clinic.

NEDD9 may also provide a target for some future therapeutic against metastatic cancer, Golemis says.

In 1996, the Golemis laboratory first identified NEDD9, a so-called scaffolding protein that forms part of a complex of molecules just inside the cell membrane. NEDD9 and related proteins collectively act as transmitters, relaying signals from the cell surface to the cell interior to control cancer cell growth and movement. Over the past three years, scientists from laboratories around the world have contributed to a body of evidence showing how excess amounts of the NEDD9 contribute to metastasis in a number of cancers, including melanoma, lung cancer, and glioblastoma.

“One thought is that producing excess NEDD9 gives tumours a selective advantage over other cells,” Golemis says, “so we are trying to determine how NEDD9 might provide that advantage.”

To better understand the role of NEDD9 in breast cancer, the Fox Chase researchers studied a variety of mice, bred by colleagues at the University of Tokyo to lack the NEDD9 gene. These NEDD9 “knockout” mice were then made to turn on an oncogene that induces breast cancer in mice, and compared to normal mice given the same treatment.

While the NEDD9 knockout mice developed breast cancers, they did so more slowly and less efficiently than normal mice, and without the activation of the central protein pathways most responsible for cancer growth and metastasis.

In fact, mammary tumour growth in the knockout mice showed marked genetic differences from the very moment premalignant lesions were detected, as compared to the normal mice.

Turmeric root cuts Breast cancer risk in women

Curcumin, a popular Indian spice derived from the turmeric root, can help reduce cancer risk among postmenopausal women exposed to hormone replacement therapy, according to University of Missouri researchers.

Studies conducted in the past have suggested that a combined oestrogen and progestin hormone replacement therapy increases postmenopausal women’s risk of developing progestin-accelerated breast tumours.

“The results of our study show that women could potentially take curcumin to protect themselves from developing progestin-accelerated tumours," said Salman Hyder, the Zalk Endowed Professorship in Tumor Angiogenesis and professor of biomedical sciences in the College of Veterinary Medicine and the Dalton Cardiovascular Research Centre.

The study conducted using animal model showed that curcumin delayed the first appearance, decreased incidence and reduced multiplicity of progestin-accelerated tumours.

Curcumin also prevented the appearance of gross morphological abnormalities in the mammary glands.

The research team previously showed that progestin accelerates the development of certain tumours by increasing production of a molecule called VEGF that helps supply blood to the tumour.

And blocking the production of VEGF could potentially reduce the proliferation of breast cancer cells.

Hyder said that curcumin inhibits progestin-induced VEGF secretion from breast cancer cells.

"Curcumin and other potential anti-angiogenic compounds should be tested further as dietary chemopreventive agents in women already exposed to hormone replacement therapy containing estrogen and progestin in an effort to decrease or delay the risk of breast cancer associated with combined hormone replacement therapy," Hyder said.

The study has been published in Menopause, a journal of the North American Menopause Society.