Breast Cancer Prevention, A new Hope
“Breast cancer research is making a serious headway in its quest to find ways to prevent the disease. New drug therapies may help save millions of lives.”
One out of every eight women in the world battles with breast cancer during her lifetime. It is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths among women in the United States. Causes of breast cancer remain unknown, and its symptoms show up late in many cases. As the age increases, the risk of breast cancer increases in women. But there are new breakthroughs in medical research and there is renewed hope of a cure that can save millions of lives.
Biphosphonates May Prevent Breast Cancer
Biphosphonates are commonly used drugs to treat osteoporosis. A study funded by the U.S. National Institute of Health (NIH) has revealed that these drugs may inhibit the growth of breast cancer cells. The study found out in its research sample of about 3,000 women that the ones who had used biphosphonates for the maximum period of time cut down their breast cancer risk by nearly two-fifths. However, this result was observed only in women who did not suffer from obesity.
There have been positive reactions to the study from other cancer research organizations in Europe. However, most leading researchers are of the opinion that these findings need to be made more conclusive with more detailed testing in women who are at a higher risk of the disease.
New Preventive Drug in the Pipeline
The Scottish Funding Council and Breakthrough Breast Cancer funded a study conducted by researchers at University of Edinburg that may lead to the development of a new drug. The drug may help to prevent breast cancer in about 20 percent of the patients. About half the breast cancer tumors are known to produce C35 protein, which is suspected to one of the causes of breast cancer.
The new research is working on some chemical agents that may prevent the production of C35 protein. The test results in their initial stages have been positive, but the formulation of a drug for human consumption is still some time away. It is critical to reach a chemical agent that works without causing any harm to the human body, which is the main thrust of the research.
Vaccine to Prevent Breast Cancer
Scientists at Cleveland Clinic’s Lerner Institute in Ohio have made a path-breaking discovery that may finally result in a preventive vaccine against breast cancer. The vaccine that has been in developmental stages for nearly one decade has finally achieved success in preventing the disease in a test group of mice. In addition to preventing the disease, the vaccine also worked to remove the existing tumors in the mice.
Cleveland Clinic is gearing up to seek clearance from the regulatory authorities for human trials of the vaccine. The preventive vaccine would be aimed at all women over the age of 40. Nature Medicine journal has reported the findings of this research with personal interviews of the Cleveland Clinic research team.
Read on
What’s Wrong With Breast Cancer Awareness Month
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, which again fills the stores with pink products and pink ribbons. But many people with breast cancer are feeling exploited.
Drug to Combat Breast Cancer in African-American Women
Scientists at Northwestern University experimented with a combination of anti-cancer drug therapy called arsenic trioxide with nanotechnology, which has resulted in new drug with positive results against a specific type of breast cancer. This is a highly aggressive breast cancer known as triple negative, which has a high prevalence among African-American women.
This cancer spreads rapidly and usually the patient has low chances of survival. However, the new drug therapy uses nanotechnology to send arsenic through the blood without letting the body be harmed. Arsenic gets directly delivered to the cancerous cells, and avoids the healthy cells. So the new delivery mechanism has led to a new hope not just for breast cancer, but for several other types of cancer as well.
Fish Oil Supplements May Help to Prevent Breast Cancer
The Journal of Cancer, Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention has published the results of a new study that shows the positive effect of fish oils in prevention of breast cancer. The extensive 6-year study involving over 35,000 women, conducted by researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, has indicated that fish oil supplements can reduce the breast cancer risk among post-menopausal women by about one-third.
The research believes its findings are interesting, but further research is essential to arrive at any conclusive judgment that fish oil is actually responsible for prevention of this disease. Fish oil may help to reduce inflammation in the breast cells, which in turn may prevent the cells from becoming cancerous.
Sources:
Cancer.gov “Breast Cancer” (Accessed on July 17, 2010)
Nlm.nih.gov “Breast Cancer” (Accessed on July 17, 2010)
BreastCancer.Org “Research News” (Accessed on July 17, 2010)
Susan A Psychologist
