bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

sponsorType

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Agence France-Presse

For breast cancer survivors, the risk of tumours returning casts a long shadow, with recurrence possible up to two decades after a diagnosis. But new research could help identify and treat those most in danger.
Doctors have traditionally relied on factors such as the size and grade of a tumour at diagnosis, lymph node involvement and a patient’s age to determine their risk of relapse.

But the rate at which breast cancer recurs, and why it does so, remains “poorly understood”, according to the study published Thursday in the journal Nature.
In a bid to change that, the researchers turned to data from over 3,000 breast cancer patients diagnosed in the United Kingdom and Canada between 1977 and 2005.
3-year-old girl survives rare breast cancer
Nearly 2,000 of the cases included molecular data about the cancers that provided the researchers with detailed information about the tumours.
The data was used to develop a computer model that identified four sub-groups with “exceedingly high risk of late distant relapse,” said senior author Christina Curtis, assistant professor of medicine and genetics at Stanford University.

“These are the patients that remain in jeopardy of experiencing a relapse after their initial diagnosis,” she said.
The study found that around 25 per cent of women with the most commonly diagnosed form of breast cancer have a 42-55 per cent risk of seeing their cancer return within two decades.
In a first, immunotherapy drug shown to act against breast cancer
“These are the women who seem to be cured but then present with systemic disease many years later,” Curtis said in a press release issued by Stanford University.
“Until now, there has been no good way to identify this subset of women who might benefit from ongoing screening or treatment.”
The study also opens up potential new avenues for additional treatment of breast cancer patients by identifying gene alterations in each of the four at-risk sub-groups.

These alterations or mutations result in problems in signalling that can cause unwanted cell growth. And that in turn can fuel the formation of tumours or their progression.
“Many of these genomic driver alterations can potentially be therapeutically targeted, suggesting the possibility of new treatment options, though this will need to be evaluated in the context of clinical trials,” Curtis said.
Call for universal breast cancer screening in Hong Kong
The study also reveals when and where in the body breast cancers might metastasise and found a group of patients with so-called triple-negative tumours whose cancers are unlikely to return after five years.
“This information can be used to refine risk estimates and improve follow-up and stratification of patients with breast cancer – for example by determining which patients might benefit from longer or different types of treatment,” Curtis said.
The researchers cautioned that their data set includes cases from decades ago, meaning that patients were not then able to access more recently developed and approved treatments.
Some of those treatments have significantly improved the survival rates for patients with particular types of breast cancer.
But the findings should still significantly help doctors more accurately predict which of their patients are most at risk of seeing their cancer return.
The team has even developed an online “breast cancer recurrence predictor” tool for doctors, using their model.
Curtis said the researchers are now pursuing a clinical trial for treatment options that would target the genomic defects in patients most at risk of cancer recurrence.


US$1.7 billion SciNeuro-Novartis deal offers hope for 55 million Alzheimer’s patients

New York City Mayor Mamdani joins picket line as 15,000 nurses strike

Singaporean dementia study links Alzheimer’s to clogged ‘brain drains’, but what are they?

Why your gut microbiome is so important for health and how to protect it

Medicine

Breast cancer breakthrough uses molecular data to predict whether tumours will come back

A colourised scanning electron micrograph of a breast cancer cell. Stock photo: Alamy

This undated fluorescence-colored microscope image made available by the National Institutes of Health in September 2016 shows a culture of human breast cancer cells. Environmental risks and heredity get the most blame for cancer, but new research released on Thursday, March 23, 2017 suggests random chance may play a bigger role than people realize: Healthy cells naturally make mistakes when they multiply, typos in your DNA that can leave new cells carrying cancer-prone genetic mutations. (Ewa Krawczyk/National Cancer Institute via AP)

M56R6D Doctor examines mammogram snapshot of breast of female patient on the monitors. Selective focus.

Yemeni women wait in queue with their husbands for their breast examination at a cancer hospital in Taez, southwest of the capital Sanaa, on March 11, 2019. (Photo by AHMAD AL-BASHA / AFP)

3-year-old girl survives rare breast cancer 

Breast cancer survivors 

Hong Kong people attend the Pink Walk for Breast Health in 2016. Breast cancer is the most prevalent cancer type among Chinese women. 

Yanyan, whose face is covered, pictured before her breast cancer surgery. 

Immunotherapy breakthrough in treatment of aggressive breast cancers

New study says an immunotherapy drug has shown promise in fighting breast cancer. Photo: Alamy

EHNH6F Mammogram indicating breast cancer. Photo : Alamy [FEATURES 2018]

D18EY0 Breast cancer, an infiltrating ductal carcinoma Photo : Alamy [FEATURES 2018]

PWARBM Mastopathy. Chest pain. Disease of the breast. Breast cancer Photo : Alamy [FEATURES 2018]

Call for universal breast cancer screening in Hong Kong as study shows most cases are not hereditary

The study found that only one in seven breast cancer patients in the city had a family history of the disease. Photo: Reuters

Medical hospital mammography x-ray breast cancer mammogram scan. (Dreamstime/TNS)

News

World

Lifestyle

Health

Health & Wellness

The research identified four types of breast cancer with ‘exceedingly high risk’ of relapse
The findings open new avenues for treatment and screening of at-risk patients


The research identified four types of breast cancer with ‘exceedingly high risk’ of relapse. The findings open new avenues for treatment and screening of at-risk patients.


Disease

Wellness

Breast cancer breakthrough uses molecular data to predict whether tumours will come back

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;}The research identified four types of breast cancer with ‘exceedingly high risk’ of relapse The findings open new avenues for treatment and screening of at-risk patients

The research identified four types of breast cancer with ‘exceedingly high risk’ of relapse

The findings open new avenues for treatment and screening of at-risk patients