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In the most comprehensive study ever looking at the genetics of breast cancer, scientists have linked 110 genes to an increased risk of the disease.
The Institute of Cancer Research study used a pioneering genetic technique to analyse 63 areas of the genome that had previously been associated with the risk of breast cancer.
Finding the genes responsible for increased risk is not straightforward because small sequences of DNA can interact with completely different parts of the genome through a strange phenomenon known as ‘DNA looping’.
But the researchers used a technique called Capture Hi-C to study interactions between different regions of the genome.
New research from the UK shows how alcohol damages DNA in stem cells and helps to explain why drinking can increase your risk of cancer.
The study, by scientists at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge has been published in the journal Nature, and used mice to show how alcohol exposure leads to permanent genetic damage.
Scientists gave diluted alcohol (known as ethanol) to mice. They then used chromosome analysis and DNA sequencing to examine the genetic damage caused by acetaldehyde, a harmful chemical produced when the body processes alcohol.
They found that acetaldehyde can break and damage DNA within blood stem cells which leads to rearranged chromosomes and permanently altered DNA sequences in these cells.
Researchers in the US have identified two new genes associated with breast cancer: MSH6 and PMS2.
The new study suggests that each gene approximately doubles a woman’s risk of developing breast cancer by age 60. The two genes were previously known to cause Lynch syndrome, an inherited condition that raises the risk of colorectal, ovarian, stomach, and endometrial cancer.
This study shows that some women with Lynch syndrome are also more likely to develop breast cancer.
The Horowhenua Pink Ladies Breast Cancer Support (BCS) Group has had a busy few months. They have welcomed several new members since Christmas so have had a lot of new women in their local area to support.
They enjoy seeing all their members at the monthly meetings which are held on the third Wednesday of every month at the Salvation Army Lounge in Levin - normally there are between 25 and 30 women attending these meetings.
A new study has found that acupuncture significantly reduces joint pain for post-menopausal women with early-stage breast cancer taking aromatase inhibitors.
The research, presented at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, involved a randomised controlled trial comparing acupuncture, sham acupuncture and no acupuncture.
Lead researcher Dr Dawn Hershaman says aromatase inhibitors are among the most common and effective treatments given to post-menopausal women diagnosed with hormone receptor–positive breast cancer.
A combination of the breakthrough drug Keytruda and Herceptin is well tolerated and has clinical benefits for patients with Herceptin-resistant HER2-positive breast cancer.
The new treatment regimen was tested in a clinical trial on patients with advanced HER2-positive breast cancer that had continued to grow on Herceptin (trastuzumab) therapies.
The results were presented at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium and researchers say they suggest that immunotherapy approaches could work in patients with advanced HER2-positive breast cancer that is resistant to Herceptin.
Lead researcher, Dr Sherene Loi says approximately 20 percent of invasive breast cancers are HER2-positive, and some of these patients will develop resistance to trastuzumab.
Increasing the dose intensity of chemotherapy by shortening the time period between treatments may help to reduce the risk of breast cancer recurring, a new study shows.
The research, presented at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, also noted that delivering drugs sequentially rather than at the same time helped to reduce the risk of recurrence and death.
The study involved a meta-analysis of a number of clinical trials comparing treatments in which chemotherapy was given every two weeks instead of every three weeks, and others in which anthracycline and taxane-based chemotherapies were infused sequentially rather than concurrently as is usual practice.
The Breast Cancer Aotearoa Coalition (BCAC) is pushing for the chemotherapy drug, Abraxane, to be publicly funded for women with advanced breast cancer.
BCAC has lodged an application with the Government’s drug-buying agency, PHARMAC, to publicly fund the drug for patients with advanced breast cancer.
Abraxane was approved as safe and effective for use in New Zealand in 2010 and is widely used in other countries. It has fewer side-effects than other similar chemotherapy drugs.
BCAC chairperson, Libby Burgess, says oncologists have been calling for the medicine to be publicly funded for the past eight years and it’s high time it was more widely available.
This phase two, pragmatic, randomised controlled trial will compare lymph node grafting, in addition to standard lymphoedema therapy against standard lymphoedema therapy alone.
The trial is recruiting for new participants and researchers want to hear from you if you meet the following criteria and want to take part:
Trial design
A randomised, open label, Phase 3 study of abemaciclib combined with standard adjuvant endocrine therapy alone in patients with high risk, node positive, early stage, hormone receptor positive, HER2 negative breast cancer.
The aim of this study, MonarchE, is to evaluate whether the combination of abemaciclib plus standard adjuvant endocrine therapy improves outcomes in participants with a certain type of breast cancer compared to adjuvant endocrine therapy alone.
