Infection related genes that are more likely switched on after pregnancy may be linked to pregnancy associated breast cancer U.S. researchers are discovered.Bring in pregnant at a young age reduces the long-term risk of breast cancer but women are at increased risk for breast cancer during pregnancy and for up to 10 years after giving birth and these pregnancy associated breast cancers are highly aggressive, said the University of Illinois at Chicago team.

They inspect the level of expression of 64 genes in tissue from women aged 18 to 45 who had had benign breast biopsies and breast reduction surgeries and the researchers found that 22 percent of the genes showed significant differences in expression in the breast tissue of women who had never given birth and those who had children. Inflammation related to genes were more active in women who had given birth.

Our results showed an increase in immune activity in the post-pregnant breast. Absorption this response was not limited to the recently pregnant group but also characterized more distant pregnancies as well,” lead researcher Debra Tonetti an associate professor of pharmacology said in a news release and the study published in the March issue of Cancer Prevention Research may help lead to new prevention and treatment approaches to pregnancy-related breast cancer.

Attempt related exposure to chemicals and pollutants before a woman is in her mid-30s may greatly increase her uncertainty or risk of breast cancer after menopause a new study has to be found. The study accommodate 556 women diagnosed with breast cancer in Canada when they were among the ages of 50 and 75 and a control group of 613 breast cancer-free women in the same age group. Complete had gone through menopause.

The experimenter investigated the women’s levels of occupational denudation to about 300 substances and found a link between breast cancer and several of the substances. The risk of breast cancer behind menopause was highest in women exposed to these substances before present the age of 36 and increased with each additional decade of exposure before this age. The women exposed to acrylic fibers at work had a seven-fold increased risk of breast cancer during the time the risk was almost double among those exposed to nylon fibers and exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons found in petroleum products before age 36 tripled the risk of breast cancer the study authors reported.

The study was published April first in the journal Occupational and Environmental Medicine. The findings are invariable with the theory that breast tissue is more sensitive to harmful chemicals whenever exposure occurs when breast cells are still active before a woman reaches her 40s the researchers noted and they added that environmental and workplace factors are thought to contribute to the increase of breast cancer in developed countries.

Tumor cells disengage from the primary breast cancer site often travel to the bone marrow and spread from there to other areas of the body. Chemotherapy briskness up bone turnover which releases bone derived growth factors that can promote tumor growth in breast cancer patients. It is propone that zoledronic acid which reduces bone loss by slowing the activity of cells that destroy bone  can make bone marrow a less inviting place for cancer cells.

The new state two trial included 120 women undergoing chemotherapy for locally advanced breast cancer. Few of the patients received four milligrams of zoledronic acid every three weeks for one year starting with their first dose of chemotherapy while others received no zoledronic acid and the bone marrow samples were taken at the start of the study and again after three months and one year of treatment.

Between women who had no tumor cells in their bone marrow at the start of the study 87 % of those in the zoledronic acid group were free of tumor cells at three months compared with 60 percent of those who received chemotherapy alone. After  one year treatment, the rates were 40 percent and 33 percent respectively the study authors noted. Researchers also found that zoledronic acid prevented chemotherapy-related bone loss, among patients who had low bone mineral density at the start of the study 44 % of those who took zoledronic acid had normal bone density after one year and significant decreases in bone-turnover markers at three months and one year.

“October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month and the gestures by NFL players, Major League baseball players, NASCAR drivers and other public figures – even the front cover of Sports Illustrated – are all helping to bring the plight of millions of women to light”, reports Times Bulletin.

The first such event started in 1985 as a week-long program to provide information to the public about the disease, and now it’s a whole month dedicated for the cause. This great success has been the result of constant efforts of national public service organizations, professional medical associations, government agencies and thousands of public figures. Read the rest of this entry →