Breast Health Blog

This article is from Medical News Today.

If cancer cells lack a certain protein, it could be much easier for them to penetrate healthy body tissue, the first step towards forming metastases. Scientists at the Pharmacology Institute of the University of Heidelberg have discovered the previously unknown cell signal factor SCAI (suppressor of cancer cell invasion), which inhibits the movement and spread of tumor cells in laboratory tests. When the factor’s functioning was disrupted, the cancer cells moved much more effectively in what are known as three-dimensional matrix systems, which imitate some of the tissue properties of the human body.

“The protein is apparently suppressed in many types of tumors, e.g. breast, lung, or thyroid,” explains Dr. Robert Grosse, head of the Emmy Noether Junior Research Group funded by the German Research Association (DFG) at the Pharmacology Institute. The new factor could be an interesting starting point for research into new mechanisms for fighting cancer. The research team’s results have now been published online in the prestigious international journal Nature Cell Biology.

Focus on particularly aggressive cancers

Tumor cells are extremely mobile and “adept” at penetrating healthy tissue to form metastases. They adapt to the consistency of the respective tissue by changing their shapes constantly and attach flexibly to surrounding tissues during movement with the help of special surface structures (receptors).

One of these receptors is what is known as b1-integrin, which is frequently formed in many tumors such as metastasizing breast cancer. “The cell signal factor SCAI controls the formation and function of b1-integrin,” says Dr. Robert Grosse. “If there is too little SCAI in tumor cells, then b1-integrin is overactive, so to speak. The cell can change more rapidly to a more aggressive form and penetrate surrounding tissue, a crucial step toward increased spreading of the tumor and the possible formation of metastases.”

In their recently published study, the Heidelberg researchers examined cells from skin cancer (melanoma) and breast cancer. In other projects, Dr. Robert Grosse’s team would like to study the function of the signal factor SCAI more closely in an animal model. “If the function of SCAI is confirmed to be decisive in the formation of especially aggressive tumor cells, this could be a promising starting point for developing new diagnostic methods or medication,” says the pharmacologist. It could also be possible to develop an agent that prevents the genetic suppression of the signal factor in cancer cells. But first the researchers need to better understand how the signal factor itself is regulated in the cell.

Source:
Dr. Robert Grosse
University Hospital Heidelberg

Watch this informative video on how to do a proper BSE!

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THIS ARTICLE IS HUGE! PLEASE READ- I have bolded the good parts.

This article was was taken from MedicalNewsToday.com

Researchers at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center have identified a new marker for breast cancer metastasis called TMEM, for Tumor Microenvironment of Metastasis. As reported in the March 24 online edition of the journal Clinical Cancer Research, density of TMEM was associated with the development of distant organ metastasis via the bloodstream — the most common cause of death from breast cancer.

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) funded translational study could lead to the first test to predict the likelihood of breast cancer metastasis via the bloodstream — a development that could change the way breast cancer is treated.

An estimated 40 percent of breast cancer patients relapse and develop metastatic disease. About 40,000 women die of metastatic breast cancer every year.

“Currently, anyone with a breast cancer diagnosis fears the worst — that the cancer will spread and threaten their lives. A tissue test for metastatic risk could alleviate those worries, and prevent toxic and costly measures like radiation and chemotherapy,” says senior author Dr. Joan G. Jones, professor of clinical pathology and laboratory medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College and director of Anatomic Pathology at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center.

“If patients can be better classified as either low risk or high risk for metastasis, therapies can be custom tailored to patients, preventing over-treatment or under-treatment of the disease,” adds first author Dr. Brian D. Robinson, resident in Anatomic Pathology at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center.

The Weill Cornell investigators… Continue reading New Test May Predict Breast Cancer Metastasis

The BBC News Reports a study of over 2,000 Chinese women in the International Journal of Cancer found large quantities of both mushrooms and green tea in the diet slashed cancer risk by up to 90%. Research suggests chemicals in the foods block tumor growth and boost the body’s natural defenses against cancer.

 Extracts of the mushroom Phellinus linteus have been used for centuries in Eastern Ancient medicine where it is believed to refresh bodies and extend life.  Scientists in California have been doing a trial to see if taking a mushroom extract twice a day for a month helps breast cancer survivors remain free of the disease after work showed the extract could halt the growth of breast cancer cells. The new study of Chinese women, by a team at the University of Western Australia in Perth, found that women who ate at least a third of an ounce of fresh mushrooms daily were 64% less likely to develop breast cancer.  Dried mushrooms had a slightly less protective effect, reducing the risk by around half.  Women who combined a mushroom diet with regular consumption of green tea saw an even greater benefit- the risk among women in this group was reduced by almost 90%.

Green tea contains antioxidant compounds called polyphenols that have been shown to fight breast tumors in animals. Black tea, although made from the same plant called Camellia sinesis, is not believed to have the same properties because the leaves are processed differently. It goes through a fermentation process that strips the plant of its natural polyphenol compounds.

It is known that the rate of breast cancer in China is four to five times lower than rates typically seen in developed countries, although this is changing as women are adopting Western diets rich in meat and dairy - and piling on the pounds.

First of all, doesn’t it sound like something your gramma would bring over to your house to cheer you up?  The Detroit Free Press  writes about  a new diagnosis breast-specific gamma imaging, uses a radioactive injection that lights up tumor cells, which have high metabolic activity. It is a diagnostic tool, when cancer is suspected, not a screening machine used annually to find breast cancer. And it remains largely unproven; not enough studies have been done to show it saves lives and money.

But doctors can easily read the gammagram and can give women an immediate diagnosis. It may help some patients avoid biopsies or waiting as long as six months for another mammogram, which can happen if an X-ray is too cloudy.

Another plus: A gammagram does not require painful compression of the breast as mammograms do.

All this- plus cheap housing? I might be moving to Michigan!

Read the full article by clicking below-

http://www.freep.com/article/20090210/FEATURES08/902100336/1033/business/Breast+cancer+diagnosis+gets+a+boost+with+gammagrams

This article was taken from the Cancer Prevention coalition.

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Dangers and Unreliability of Mammography: Breast Examination is a Safe, Effective, and Practical Alternative

Samuel S. Epstein, Rosalie Bertell, and Barbara Seaman

International Journal of Health Services, 31(3):605-615, 2001.

Mammography screening is a profit-driven technology posing risks compounded by unreliability. In striking contrast, annual clinical breast examination (CBE) by a trained health professional, together with monthly breast self-examination (BSE), is safe, at least as effective, and low in cost. International programs for training nurses how to perform CBE and teach BSE are critical and overdue.

Contrary to popular belief and assurances by the U. S. media and the cancer establishment- the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and American Cancer Society (ACS)- mammography is not a technique for early diagnosis. In fact, a breast cancer has usually been present for about eight years before it can finally be detected. Furthermore, screening should be recognized as damage control, rather than misleadingly as “secondary prevention.”

DANGERS OF SCREENING MAMMOGRAPHY
Mammography poses a wide range of risks of which women worldwide still remain uninformed.

Radiation Risks
Radiation from routine mammography poses significant cumulative risks of initiating and promoting breast cancer (1- 3). Contrary to conventional assurances that radiation exposure from mammography is trivial- and similar to that from a chest X-ray or spending one week in Denver, about 1/ 1,000 of a rad (radiation-absorbed dose)- the routine practice of taking four films for each breast results in some 1,000-fold greater exposure, 1 rad, focused on each breast rather than the entire chest (2). Thus, premenopausal women undergoing annual screening over a ten-year period are exposed to a total of about 10 rads for each breast. As emphasized some three decades ago, the premenopausal breast is highly sensitive to radiation, each rad of exposure increasing breast cancer risk by 1 percent, resulting in a cumulative 10 percent increased risk over ten years of premenopausal screening, usually from ages 40 to 50 (4); risks are even greater for “baseline” screening at younger ages, for which there is no evidence of any future relevance. Furthermore, breast cancer risks from mammography are up to fourfold higher for the 1 to 2 percent of women… Continue reading Are Mammograms even necessary? Another opinion…

1. Cruciferous vegetables powerfully prevent breast cancer.
2. Vitamin D powerfully protects against breast cancer.
3. Mammograms cause some breast cancers, reduce deaths by almost the same number of deaths they cause and overall do very little to extend lives.

Knowing the signs and symptoms of breast cancer may help save your life. When breast cancer is discovered early, you have more treatment options.

Breast Lumps.  The most common sign of breast cancer is a lump- Yet most lumps are not cancerous.

Thickening and or dimpling of the breast.

A spontaneous clear or bloody discharge from your nipple-often associated with a breast lump

Retraction or indentation of your nipple

A change in shape or size of one or both of your breasts

Unexplained heat that radiates from one or both breasts

Redness or puckering of the skin over your breast-

There are a number of conditions other than breast cancer can cause your breasts to change in size or feel. Breast tissue changes naturally during pregnancy, weight gain or loss and your menstrual cycle. Other possible causes of noncancerous (benign) breast changes include fibrocystic changes, cysts, mastitis (breast infection), fibroadenomas or injuries.

If you find a lump or other change in your breast — even if a recent mammogram was normal — see your doctor for evaluation and/or consider a thermogram.

A risk factor is anything that makes it more likely you’ll get a particular disease. Some risk factors, such as your age, sex and family history, can’t be changed, whereas others, including weight, smoking and diet, are under your control.

But having one or even several risk factors doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll develop cancer — most women with breast cancer have no known risk factors other than simply being women. In fact, being female is the single greatest risk factor for breast cancer. Although men can develop the disease, it’s far more common in women.

Other factors that may make you more susceptible Continue reading What are the risk factors in developing breast cancer?

• Maintain a healthy weight. There’s a clear link between obesity — weighing more than is appropriate for your age and height — and breast cancer. The association is stronger if you gain the weight later in life, particularly after menopause.
• Avoid long-term hormone therapy. The link between postmenopausal hormone therapy and breast cancer has been a subject of debate for years, partly because research results have been mixed. Estrogen exposure clearly contributes to breast cancer risk, but for most women, the size of the contribution over a lifetime is small — particularly in the absence of other risk factors, such as family history of the disease. If you’re approaching menopause and having frequent symptoms, it’s probably safe to take hormones for as long as four to five years. Any longer does increase your breast cancer risk, without conferring any clear benefits. The same is true of hormone therapy after age 60.
• Stay physically active. No matter what your age, aim for at least 30 minutes of exercise on most days. Try to include weight-bearing exercises such as walking, jogging or dancing. These have the added benefit of keeping your bones strong.
• Eat foods high in fiber. Try to increase the amount of fiber you eat to between 20 and 30 grams daily — about twice that in an average American diet. Among its many health benefits, fiber may help reduce the amount of circulating estrogen in your body. Foods high in fiber include fresh fruits and vegetables and whole grains.
• Emphasize olive oil. Oleic acid, the main component of olive oil, appears both to suppress the action of the most important oncogene in breast cancer and to increase the effectiveness of the drug Herceptin.
• Avoid exposure to pesticides. The molecular structure of some pesticides closely resembles that of estrogen. This means they may attach to receptor sites in your body. Although studies have not found a definite link between most pesticides and breast cancer, it is known that women with elevated levels of pesticides in their breast tissue have a greater breast cancer risk.
• Limit alcohol. Drinking alcohol is strongly linked to breast cancer. The type of alcohol consumed — wine, beer or mixed drinks — seems to make no difference. To help protect against breast cancer, limit the amount of alcohol you drink to less than one drink a day or avoid alcohol completely.
• Massage breasts and lymphatic areas daily.

New research
Scientists are investigating a number of potential preventive therapies for breast cancer, including:

• Retinoids. Natural or synthetic forms of vitamin A (retinoids) may have the ability to destroy or inhibit the growth of cancer cells. Unlike other experimental therapies, retinoids may be effective in premenopausal women and in those whose tumors aren’t estrogen positive. Research is ongoing.
• Flaxseed. Flaxseed is high in lignan, a naturally occurring compound that lowers circulating estrogens in your body. Flaxseed appears to decrease estrogen production — acting much like tamoxifen does — which may inhibit the growth of breast cancer tumors. Lignans are also antioxidants with weak estrogen-like characteristics. These characteristics may be the mechanism by which flaxseed works to decrease hot flashes. Further research should clarify the connection.