Breast cancer news – (9/10/07)
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A while back a study was published in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention that showed an association between breast cancer risk and a western style diet in Asian women. Asian women have traditionally had lower rates of breast cancer, but their rates have been increasing. This study revealed two overall diet patterns – one consisting of a high amount of meat and candy, dessert, bread and milk termed ‘meat-sweet’. The other has mostly vegetables, soy-based products and freshwater fish and is called ‘vegetable-soy’. The researchers found that the ‘meat-sweet’ pattern was significantly associated with increased risk of estrogen-receptor-positive (ER+) breast cancer among overweight postmenopausal women.
A new gene was found to be associated with breast cancer by researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center. It is called FOXP3 and is located on the X chromosome – one of only 2 genes linked to cancer so far found there. In mice it was discovered that when the FOXP3 gene is silenced 90% of the them spontaneously developed cancerous tumors. In humans it was found that around 80% of the cancer tissues they studied didn’t express FOXP3 at all. They also discovered that FOXP3 represses the HER-2/ErbB2 oncogene which is associated with a more aggressive form of breast cancer.
The President of the International Menopause Society suggests that the connection between breast cancer incidence and use of hormone therapy needs to be looked at more closely in Breast cancer and hormone therapy — A looking-glass mirror?. He concludes with “breast-wise, in women younger than 60, HT (particularly estrogen-alone) is safe”.
In the Journal of the National Cancer Institute there was a study in July from the The Netherlands showing that “breast cancer detection may increase when mammograms are reviewed by both a radiologist and a mammographic technologist“. Specifically they found that “breast cancer detection rate increased 6.8% when the mammograms were read by two technologists and two radiologists”.
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July 26, 2007
Breast cancer update – 7/26/07
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A few short news bits concerning breast cancer:
Breast cancer and breast feeding
“Breastfeeding can offset the increased risk of invasive breast cancer for women who had their first full-term pregnancy after the age of 25, a study led by researchers at the University of Southern California (USC) suggests.” Read more.
Breast cancer vaccines
Someday vaccines may be developed that can help the body’s immune system to “stimulate an antibody and cellular response against cancer cells”. Some researchers trying to find a vaccine against breast cancer have a new strategy to boost T cells (a type of white blood cell) to fight against cancer cells. They used mice bred to carry the oncogene HER-2/neu and gave them a synthetic peptide vaccine. The vaccine resulted in all “samples either slowing or stopping the progression of breast cancer”. Read more.
Preoperative chemotherapy
A Cochrane Systematic Review indicates that “using chemotherapy to reduce the size of tumours before surgery does not compromise survival rates and enables women to retain better self-image and overall health because of the reduced impact of the surgery.” Read more.
More personalized treatment
A test may someday be available to help identify people who might react badly to radiation. “The research could mean people who might react badly to radiotherapy could be warned in advance or alternative treatments be sought.” Read more.
Abortion / miscarriage
And lastly – no surprises here: “Neither induced abortion nor spontaneous abortion (miscarriage) appears to be associated with breast cancer risk in premenopausal women”. Read more.
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Related Posts:
- Recent developments in breast cancer research
- Breast cancer update – 7/12/07
- FDA approves vaccine to prevent cervical cancer
July 20, 2007
Breast cancer research update – 7/20/07
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A few months ago it was discovered that four specific gene products are closely involved in breast cancer cells spreading (metastasize) into the lung. The work was published in PNAS and Nature.
The researchers took human breast cancer cells and using a technique called RNA interference they blocked the expression of each of these 4 genes individually and in different combinations. They then implanted these cancer cells into mice.
When any of the individual genes were inactivated the primary tumor growth and lung metastasis were inhibited a little. But when all four were inactivated – the tumor growth and spread into the lungs was almost completely stopped!
The four genes are:
- epiregulin – involved in the growth and progression of some cancers
- cyclooxygenase-2 (COX2) – involved in inflammation responses
- matrix metalloproteinase 1 (MMP1) – involved with angiogenesis and tumor cell migration
- matrix metalloproteinase 2 (MMP2) – involved with angiogenesis and tumor cell migration
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Using drugs already available:
- celecoxib (Celebrex) – an inhibitor of COX2
- cetuximab (Erbitux) – and antibody against EGFR
- GM6001 – a broad MMP inhibitor (still in preclinical trials)
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they were able to get the same results in the mice – almost all the primary tumor growth and metastasis were eliminated.
Future research will include investigating whether or not these four genes are involved in metastasis into other organs and if multidrug targeting of these gene products will be effective in people.
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July 19, 2007
Breast cancer update – 7/16/07
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A protein that is necessary for breast cancer to metastasize – or spread to other parts of the body – was recently discovered.
Akt1 is a serine-threonine protein kinase which inhibits apoptosis. Breast and some other cancers cells tend to make too much Akt1. A group of researchers at Thomas Jefferson University genetically engineered some mice so that they would no longer make Akt1.
They then bred these mice with mice that overexpressed the HER2/neu/ErbB2 gene. The HER2/neu/ErbB2 protein is a type of epidermal growth factor receptor. Around 25% or so of breast cancers overexpress this protein.
The researchers found mice that ended up with only one copy of the Akt1 gene developed only small and slow growing tumors. But those with 2 copies developed metastatic cancer.
They also found that Akt1 causes cancer cells to release a protein called CXCL16, a cytokine. CXCL16 helps breast cancer cells to migrate to other regions of the body.
These results – published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences – may help in developing drugs that block Akt1 to prevent breast cancer metastases in the future.
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Related Posts:
- Women’s Health Weekly Review: July 6 – July 12
- New breast cancer gene discovered
- Breast cancer update – 7/12/07
July 12, 2007
Breast cancer update – 7/12/07
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I’ll do some updates on breast cancer research next – there is lot of research out there, and with being so behind it will take a few postings to get caught up.
Treatment and Survival
According to the Journal of the National Cancer Institute the survival of women with early breast cancer is increased when chemotherapy is used along with tamoxifen although preventing the ovaries from releasing estrogen does not help.
A study in International Journal of Sports Medicine suggests that women who survived breast cancer and participated in an supervised cardiovascular and strength training program improved their cardiorespiratory fitness and strength and muscle function. All but the increases in cardiorespiratory fitness were retained another 8 weeks after the initial 8 week program concluded.
New Research
Transforming growth factor beta (TGF-beta) is a protein that is involved in proliferation and differentiation of cells. Radiation and chemotherapy treatments can increase circulating levels of TGF-beta as well as circulating cancer cells in mice. Research in a mouse model of breast cancer that was published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation shows that blocking TGF-beta could prevent metastases of a tumor. The researchers blocked TGF-beta with antibodies directed against it resulting in the prevention of tumor metastases. There are currently some early stage clinical trials involving TGF-beta inhibitors being added to the treatment regimen. Read more: Treatment-induced growth factor causes cancer progression
Prevention
Eating a lot of red and processed meats may increase the chances of women developing breast cancer according to some researchers in Great Britain. In this study the diets of over 35,000 women between 35 and 69 were analyzed and it was found that the postmenopausal women who ate the most red meat were 56% more likely to develop breast cancer and those who ate the most processed meat had a 64% increase. Why this is the case is not known but it may involve the saturated fat in meat or the heterocyclic amines and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons produced in grilled meat. This research was published in the British Journal of Cancer.
Angiogenesis is the process of new blood vessel development which can lead to the increase in growth of tumors by bringing them more nutrients. A protein called VEGF (vascular endothelial growth factor) is involved in this process. It has long been known that drinking alcohol by women increases their risk for breast cancer. A recent study by Dr. Jian-Wei Gu from the University of Mississippi Medical Center in mice showed that alcohol increased breast tumor size as well as increased blood vessel growth near the tumor. They also found evidence of an increase in VEGF levels.
That’s all for now! More breast cancer news coming soon.
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Related Posts:
- Breast cancer research update – 7/20/07
- Breast cancer update – 7/16/07
- Women’s Health Weekly Review: July 6 – July 12
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