Biopeer

Site-specific procedure improves non-invasive breast cancer treatment.

San Antonio’s Texas Cancer Clinic recently conducted a site-specific radiation procedure, called AccuBoost, on a 75-year-old breast cancer patient. The treatment was designed to deliver focused radiation to the lumpectomy cavity. “This non-invasive, real time image-guided treatment will ensure better targeting of the lumpectomy cavity and makes it possible to see what you treat and treat what you see,” said Sylvia Zubyk, radiation oncologist at the Texas Cancer Clinic. AccuBoost can be delivered either before or after the main external beam portion of women's treatment plans. It can also serve as a replacement for the boost phase of whole breast irradiation. This treatment involves the latest advances in radiation therapy to save life in the fight against cancer.

A report published this week in the British Journal of Cancer confirmed that ‘Arimidex’ (anastrozole) is a cost-effective treatment for early breast cancer, based on criteria established by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE). "Recurrence is the single most important factor which increases total cost of breast cancer therapy. Therefore, reducing recurrence would have the largest influence on breast cancer spending," said Robert Mansel, professor at the University of Wales College of Medicine. "This model demonstrates that by prescribing a more effective treatment, that reduces the risk of recurrence compared to tamoxifen, you can potentially reduce the overall economic burden on the healthcare system of treating breast cancer in this setting."

Researchers at the University of Southern California and University of Hawaii found that women who ate at least one quarter of a grapefruit every day had a higher risk of developing breast cancer. The study looked at 50,000 post-menopausal women and found that eating just a quarter of a grapefruit daily raised the risk of developing breast cancer by up to 30%. The researchers believe grapefruit boosts estrogen levels - the hormone associated with a higher risk. "This is an interesting study, but is simply a piece of the jigsaw that will eventually help us to understand how our diets affect our health,” said Joanne Lunn, nutrition scientist at the British Nutrition Foundation.

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Fluorescence technology may provide 3-D image of breast cancer tumors

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania used fluorescence diffuse optical tomography (FDOT) to create 3-D images of breast cancer tumors in patients. The technique depends on the presence of fluorophore molecules in tissue, which re-radiate fluorescent light. The images demonstrated significant tumor contrast in breast tissue, paving the way for improved optical diagnostic tools. FDOT may provide information about tumor physiology like oxygen, pH, and calcium concentrations in tissue. "The potential uses of optical fluorophores bear close resemblance to the use of contrast agents in PET and MRI," said Arjun Yodh, professor in the  Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Pennsylvania. "Successful FDOT represents a critical first step towards application of molecular imaging probes such as dyes and molecular beacons that bind to tumor-specific receptors in deep tissue, a current direction for biomedical optics research.” 

A study conducted in Korea found that patients under the age of 35 have a worse breast cancer prognosis than those between the ages 35 and 50. The study, published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, found that young cancer patients were more likely to have larger tumors, and have a higher likelihood of positive lymph nodes and hormone receptor-negative cancer. The data showed that in the case of hormone receptor-positive breast cancer, the survival rate of younger women was less than women older than 35. Adjuvant (post-surgery) tamoxifen appeared less effective among younger women with hormone receptor-positive breast cancer. It is yet to be seen whether the results of the study can be generalized to more heterogeneous populations.

Researchers at the Center for Cellular and Molecular Biology at Deakin University found a rogue cell type that may cause cancer cells to move out of the breast and into surrounding tissue. Stephanie Lebret, a researcher at Deakin University, identified the rogue cells with a model of the breast that used cultured cells grown outside the body. "We found that fibroblasts, a cell type that surrounds the mammary gland, help normal breast cells develop, but when these fibroblasts are abnormal, they cause breast cancer cells to change and migrate," said Ms. Lebret. "With further study, it is possible that targeting of this factor may one day be used to prevent the spread of breast cancer."

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Researchers discover a new link between genes and breast cancer

Researchers at the Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute of the University of Pennsylvania and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have recently discovered that  the Rap80 gene is necessary in the function of the BRCA1 gene, which finds and repairs sites of DNA damage. Rap80 binds with ubiquitin, which collects at the DNA damage site, thus facilitating BRCA1 transportation to the damage site. If the BRCA1 gene is mutated, it cannot bind to Rap80 and thus cannot recognize sites of DNA damage. The longer the sites of DNA damage remain, the more cancer causing mutations will accumulate within a cell.

A study published in The Lancet by scientists at Cancer Research UK showed hormone drugs – LHRH agonists –  could diminish the need of chemotherapy in some pre-menopausal breast cancer patients. “They mean that pre-menopausal women with hormone receptor positive low risk breast cancer could consider treatment that is as effective as chemotherapy without having to endure unpleasant side effects and risk losing their fertility,” said Jack Cuzick, professor at Cancer Research UK.

Researchers at the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University in Chicago discovered that MRI scans could benefit the surgical treatment of newly diagnosed breast cancer patients. The study involved 155 women diagnosed with breast cancer by mammogram, ultrasound or needle biopsy. The diagnosis was then followed up by a surgical plan and a MRI on both breasts. MRIs detected 124 additional aberrant areas in 73 of the women resulting in altered surgical management of 36 women, which included 10 women with a history of mastectomy, 21 who had undergone lumpectomies and five who had surgery on both breasts.

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NStudy claims new vaccine for breast cancer

A study presented at the American Association for Cancer Research claims to have found a new vaccine for breast cancer, targeted to equip the immune system to look for cancer cells and destroy them. The vaccine is described as a ‘bacteria-type’ substance, prepared to kill the gene HER2/neu. The vaccine’s effectiveness was determined after it curbed the breast tumors in all the mice under experimentation. Formulated to be injected in the body of healthy patients, the vaccine not only targets cancer cells but also prepares the immune system to dispose of the cancer cells. The vaccine appears to be a practicable solution to breast cancer, yet researchers seem to undertake further studies before dishing out the vaccine.

Chinese scientists from Cochrane Collaboration, a UK-registered charity have discovered the efficacy of Chinese herbal medicines (CHM) in protecting the immune system from breast cancer patients from the side effects of chemotherapy. Six women were tested for trials with and without CHM and three cases showed improvement in the white blood cells. If the herbal treatment gives positive results at the end of trials, there are possibilities to expand the research and tap the capacity of herbs towards finding an alternative cure for breast cancer.

An analysis published in the New England Journal of Medicine reported about the sharp decline in breast cancer cases, followed by the decline in the number of menopausal women using hormones since 2002. Statistics showing an 8.6 percent decline between 2001 and 2004 account it to a sharp fall in hormone intake. Earlier studies have shown the increased risk of invasive breast cancer due to the combined intake of menopausal hormones. Therefore, the research affirms the risk of postmenopausal hormones and gives a solid reason to avoid hormone replacement therapy for countering problems associated with the onset of menopause.

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Significant advances in cancer research

US researchers have associated a high fat diet with breast cancer. They interviewed 188,700 women between the ages of 50 and 71, about their eating habits. They were all post menopausal and their health was monitored for the next 4 years. Overall, 3501 women developed breast cancer. They found that those who consumed the highest amount of fat had an 11 per cent higher chance of getting breast cancer as compared to those who ate the least fatty food. The body mass index, alcohol intake, smoking habits and so on, did not affect the results. However, those who had had a hormone replacement therapy and consumed large amounts of fat had higher chances of developing cancer. The researchers suspect that the extra fat affects hormone production and thus causes cancer. However, more studies need to be conducted to fully comprehend the risks involved.

Meanwhile, another study found that those surviving leukemia had a higher chance of developing cancer over time. Researchers from St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee, examined 2169 children and adolescents who had received therapies for acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Their aim was to calculate the long-term cumulative incidence of secondary cancers. 1290 patients had remained in remission. 9.5 per cent of these patients contracted cancer as their first event. They found that the occurrence of cancer in the leukemia-surviving patients increased as time went by. The cumulative incidence was 6.27 per cent over a period of 30 years when meningiomas and basal cell carcinomas were not taken into account. These findings raise significant health issues and emphasize the importance of a continual follow through after leukemia treatment.

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Breast cancer research makes progress

American scientists studying breast cancer have made a startling discovery regarding the role of estrogen in breast cancer. Researchers from the University of Illinois observed that estrogen aids the growth of the tumor. In the normal course of events, natural killer cells produce granzymes that destroy the tumor. However, in the case of breast cancer, estrogen stimulates the release of proteinase inhibitor 9 (PI-9). Since the role of PI-9 is to stop the granzyme from destroying the tumor cells, an increase in its production protects the tumor and promotes its growth. The researchers also claim that a small quantity of estrogen is enough to encourage the inhibitor production.

Meanwhile, British scientists have determined that a fiber rich diet could reduce the likelihood of one developing breast cancer even by half. The researchers from the University of Leeds reached this conclusion after they had followed the eating habits of around 35,000 women for seven years. Since they focused mainly on pre menopausal women, the researchers were able to establish a link between fiber rich diet and breast cancer quite effectively.

Similarly, American researchers are of the view that the recurrence of cancer in male breast cancer patients needs to be recognized. They studied the records of 1,926 men who had suffered from primary breast cancer. They found that 11.5 per cent of the men had developed a second primary cancer in less than 60 days from the diagnosis of the first cancer. Compared to men without breast cancer, the chances of developing a second primary cancer increased for male breast cancer patients by a good 16 per cent. On the basis of their findings, the researchers are advocating better cancer screening and cancer counseling for male breast cancer patients.

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Genes linked to cancer

In an important discovery, American scientists have zeroed in on a gene whose mutation is a probable cause of pediatric kidney cancer, also called Wilms tumor. Researchers from the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Cancer Center came to this conclusion after studying the tumor samples from 82 patients. They found that nearly 30 per cent of them had abnormalities in the same gene of the X chromosome. The researchers named this gene WTX. Since this gene is on the X chromosome, a single mutation can stop the functioning of the gene and cause tumor formation in both males and females. The researchers are now looking at WTX’s normal function with the help of an animal model.

Meanwhile, researchers from the UK Institute of Cancer Research have linked a new gene to breast cancer. The study they conducted involved 923 women with breast cancer and 1084 healthy women. They were checked for abnormalities in the PALB2 gene, a DNA-repair gene. While 10 of the women with breast cancer had defects, none of the healthy women had them. It was concluded that inheriting a damaged copy of this gene could doubly increase the likelihood of developing breast cancer. The discovery will help in formulating personalized treatments for breast cancer.

Across the globe, in Taiwan, researchers have developed a test to predict the benefits of chemotherapy individually for lung cancer patients. On examining tumor samples from 125 lung cancer patients, the researchers from Taiwan University short-listed a cluster of five genes. A test targeting these genes was then formulated. This test is expected to be extremely beneficial for patients as it will help to differentiate between patients in the high or low risk categories and offer scope for personalized treatment.

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Genes show the way

American researchers have deciphered the role genes play in three cases: breast cancer, Noonan syndrome (NS) and septic shock sensitivity.

Researchers from the University of California, San Francisco, have identified the gene GATA–3 as having a role in the development of breast cancer. This gene is vital for mature mammary cells to retain their maturity in the adult. In the study, conducted on adult mice, they found that when activity of GATA–3 was halted, the cells primarily involved in breast cancer regressed to a state distinctive of metastatic cancer. They multiplied uncontrollably and then died. This new study has helped researchers to understand why breast cancer patients with high GATA–3 expression do better than those with low expression.

While mutations in the PTPN11 gene and KRAS oncogene have been identified as causes for Noonan syndrome, scientists have now recognized mutations in the gene SOS1 as causing NS in certain cases. The findings were based on a study of the genetic analysis of more than 100 children suffering from NS but who did not have either of the known mutations as the cause. Mutations of SOS1 were found in about 20 per cent of the cases. When the scientists tested on mammalian cells, they found that, like the PTPN11 mutations, it encouraged the activities of RAS and MAP kinase. The researchers hope that their findings will aid prenatal diagnosis and genetic counseling for NS.

Also, researchers from New York have isolated the gene that makes some people more susceptible to septic shock. A septic shock is characterized by "cytokine storm," an uncontrollable surge of immune system components. This rush of immune system components destroys vital organs rather than destroying bacteria. Researchers have identified AUF1 as the gene that switches off the rush of immune system components. However, its level of activity differs from person to person, making some people more susceptible to septic shock. Having identified the gene, the researchers believe that now drugs can be developed to control its activity.

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Dietary checks to lower breast cancer risk

Though the link between diet and cancer has always been suspected, recent studies have come very close to proving the connection.

Tofu, miso or any soy–product helps to reduce breast cancer risk. Larissa Korde and her team at the National Cancer Institute, University of Hawaii reported these finding on the basis of a study they conducted. They observed 597 Asian-American women suffering from breast cancer and 966 women unaffected by it. The mothers of some of the women participating in the study were questioned on what they fed their daughters as child. An extensive analysis of the answers led the researchers to conclude that women who were given soy–based products between five and 11 years of age were 58 per cent less likely to contract breast cancer.

Meanwhile, daily eating of more than one serving of red meat may double the perils of breast cancer. Researchers from Boston's Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School came to this conclusion on the basis of the ongoing study they conducted on female nurses. In the comparative study, it was found that female nurses who devoured more than one serving of red meat every day were 97 per cent more prone to developing hormone-receptor-positive tumors that eventually stimulated breast cancer. Accepting that further studies are necessary to establish the relation conclusively, the researchers aim to follow the nurses so that they will be able to ascertain if the risks are the same for older women too.

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Fight against cancer gains strength

A study conducted on mice has thrown up a new possibility to fight breast cancer for researchers at the Kimmel Cancer Center, Philadelphia, US. The scientists found that the gene Dachshund could block breast cancer growth in mice and also stop the cancer from spreading to other tissues. Dachshund also hampers the expression of cyclin D1, a gene that causes cancer and has the ability to turn such genes back to normal. Dr Richard Pestell and colleagues studied the effect of this gene Dachshund in over 2,000 breast cancer patients and observed that the recovery of the patients increased when the gene is expressed more. Since this gene is so vital, the researchers believe that testing for its presence could one day predict whether the person is likely to develop breast cancer.

Meanwhile, British studies have suggested that the cocktail of chemotherapy drugs is decreasing mortality rates from breast cancer. A five-year study has pointed towards epirubicin being the most significant drug in this cocktail and that it reduced death rates by 30 per cent in the trial conducted on around 2,500 women from 75 British hospitals.

A possible new treatment for the eye cancer retinoblastoma is raising hopes. Scientists from St Jude’s Children’s Hospital used the molecule nutlin–3 to obstruct MDMX in retinoblastoma cells in mouse models. While the local application of this drug was successful, the efficacy increased when it was combined with topotecan. Compared to the most effective known combination of standard chemotherapy drugs, this two-drug treatment was more effective in decreasing the size of the tumors and did not cause any side effects. The treatment could even help certain forms of breast, lung and colon cancers.

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