As you know, October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month so be sure to check back each week throughout the month as we share important breast health tips.
While genetic testing can tell women whether they’re predisposed to developing breast cancer, a pair of efforts from Europe is offering this promise: It can tell them if they will develop cancer years in advance.
Earlier this year, scientists from Copenhagen announced they had developed a test that tracked the precursors to breast cancer two to five years in advance. Then, in late July, British researchers announced successful testing of a process that could predict breast cancers nine years before a mammogram could find them.
The ensuing years could be used to help avoid developing cancer. The scientists tracked 2,600 women from the UK, Australia and Italy for nine years. They tracked changes in the DNA of white blood cells, and noticed lower levels of the chemical methyl in the white blood cells of women who went on to contract breast cancer.
The process in which methyl groups are added to DNA, called methylation, ultimately modified DNA function. It helps determine whether the cell carrying the DNA reverts to a stem cell or coverts into a different type of cell. Methylation also helps suppress harmful or malfunctioning strands of genetic code, including code that leads to the formation of cancer cells.
A lack of methyl hampers its ability to stave off cancerous tendencies.
According to British researchers, though, once a methyl deficiency is detected, it can be altered with various therapies. That means they can use the nine-year warning to prevent women from developing breast cancer at all. Once their risk for cancer is established, patients will better know their risk factors and treatment options.
Worldwide, breast cancer is the most common cancer for women with nearly 1.7 million new cases diagnosed each year. That represents about 12 percent of all new cancer cases annually, and more than a quarter of cancers in women. The highest incidence rate is in North America, with 94 new cases per 100,000 population in the U.S. and 80 per 100,000 in Canada.
In the U.S., breast cancer is the second-most common cancer in women after skin cancer, with around 230,000 new cases each year, according to the National Cancer Institute.
The British breakthrough “” the link between methylation and breast cancer “” has long been seen as a key to fighting the disease “” studies have been in progress throughout world medical research circles for years, including several in the U.S. It was understood methylation had a link to breast cancer development, but the Brits became the first to trace it to the lack of methyl in DNA cells.
In recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, we’d like to remind you that early detection saves lives. To find out more, you can visit the St. Elizabeth Breast Center or call 877-424-5750 to register for a mammogram.
