Breast Cancer - Latest Research Reports

Breast Cancer - Latest Research Reports

Edited by Jonathan D. Kantrowitz

Published by Tsadek Press

Copyright 2014 Jonathan D. Kantrowitz

8.5 x 11, 226 pages

$12.95

2 Tsadek Press books $19.95
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Also available as a paperback from Amazon: 

http://www.amazon.com/Breast-Cancer-Latest-Research-Reports/dp/1500621153

Description:

This book offers a fascinating, and possibly, life-saving, review of the latest research on avoiding breast cancer, treating breast cancer, and surviving breast cancer.

The table of contents tells the complete story:

  

Table of Contents

Reduced Risk of Breast Cancer

Introduction                                        

Aspirin                                               

Diet                                                    

Alcohol, Coffee                                  

Exercise                                              

Weight Loss                                       

Prescription Medicine            

Pregnancy and Breast Feeding           

Increased Risk of Breast Cancer

Smoking                                             

Diet                                                    

Obesity, Cholesterol, BMI, Diabetes

Medication                                         

Radiation                                            

Child-Bearing                         

Low Vitamin D Levels            

Miscellaneous                                    

Mammography                                               

PET/CT and MRI Screening              

Genetic Testing                                              

Breast Cancer and Pregnancy`                       

Delayed Treatment After Diagnosis   

Reduced Risk of Breast Cancer Recurrence, Metastasis and Mortality

Aspirin                                               

Coffee and Tea                                   

Diet                                                    

Vitamins                                             

Exercise                                              

Prescription Medicine            

Alcohol                                               

Radiation Treatment After Surgery and With Chemotherapy

Miscellaneous                                    

Increased Risk of Recurrence and Mortality

Obesity                                               

Miscellaneous                                    

Treating Breast Cancer Side Effects

Cognitive Problems                            

Lymphedema                                      

Bone Loss and Balance                      

Joint Pain                                           

Miscellaneous                                    

Chemotherapy                                    

Surgery                                                          

Prophylactic Mastectomy                               

Triple Negative Breast Cancer            

Invasive Lobular Carcinoma                           

Ductal Carcinoma in Situ (DCIS)                                

Tamoxifen-resistant Breast Cancer                 

Last Minute Additions – Latest Research    


Sample articles:

Aspirin use lowers breast & ovarian cancer risk

Postmenopausal women who regularly use aspirin and other analgesics (known as painkillers) have lower estrogen levels, which could contribute to a decreased risk of breast or ovarian cancer.

"We observed some significant inverse associations between concentrations of several estrogens and the use of aspirin, aspirin plus non-aspirin nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), and all analgesics combined," said Margaret A. Gates, Sc.D., research fellow at the Channing Laboratory at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School.

"Our results suggest that among postmenopausal women, regular users of aspirin and other analgesics may have lower estrogen levels than non-users," Gates added.

These study results are published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

Gates and colleagues examined the association between use of aspirin, NSAIDs and acetaminophen and concentrations of estrogens and androgens among 740 postmenopausal women who participated in the Nurses' Health Study.

Frequency of all analgesic use was inversely associated with estradiol, free estradiol, estrone sulfate and the ratio of estradiol to testosterone.

Average estradiol levels were 10.5 percent lower among women who regularly used aspirin or non-aspirin NSAIDs. Similarly, free estradiol levels were 10.6 percent lower and estrone sulfate levels were 11.1 percent lower among regular users of aspirin or other NSAIDs. Among regular users of any analgesic (aspirin, NSAIDs or acetaminophen), levels of these hormones were 15.2 percent, 12.9 percent and 12.6 percent lower, respectively, according to Gates.

Michael J. Thun, M.D., M.S., vice president emeritus of epidemiology and surveillance research at the American Cancer Society, said the question of whether regular use of aspirin and other NSAIDs is causally related to reduced breast cancer risk is important, but still unresolved.

Thun believes these study results do not confirm whether aspirin-like drugs caused the reduction in circulating estradiol. However, the results do provide evidence that aspirin and other NSAIDs might reduce circulating levels of estradiol by about 10 percent, according to Thun, who is an editorial board member of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, and was not associated with this study.

"Hopefully these findings will motivate a trial to determine whether the association between aspirin use and hormone levels is causal," he said. "Until then, we have a possible mechanism for a potentially important, but as yet unproven chemopreventive benefit."

Gates agreed and said that additional research, like a randomized trial of NSAID use and hormone levels, is needed to confirm these results and to determine whether the decrease in hormone levels translates to a reduced risk of breast or ovarian cancer. If an inverse association between analgesic use and risk of breast or ovarian cancer is confirmed, then this research may have important public health implications.

"Although the overall risks and benefits would need to be weighed, analgesics could be implemented as a chemopreventive and may decrease the risk of several cancers," she said.

Aspirin may reduce risk of breast cancer

Taking aspirin on a daily basis may lower women’s risk of a particular type of breast cancer, according to results published in BioMed Central’s open access journal Breast Cancer Research. In this large study, aspirin use was linked to a small reduction in estrogen receptor-positive breast cancers. However, unlike in some previous research, aspirin and related painkillers were not found to reduce the total risk of breast cancer.

Around 75% of breast cancers are estrogen receptor-positive (ER+), which means the cancer cells have receptors for the female hormone estrogen on their surface. Estrogen helps the cancer cells grow, so drugs that block the action of estrogen are often used to treat ER+ cancer.

It is feasible, in theory, that aspirin and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) could lower the total risk of breast cancer. They block an enzyme called cyclooxygenase, an activity that could disrupt breast cancer development in a number of ways – for example, by reducing the amount of estrogen produced in the body.

A US research team, led by Gretchen Gierach, studied over 127,000 women enrolled in the National Institutes of Health–AARP Diet and Health Study, which was designed to explore the possible links between diet, health-related behaviours and cancer in older people in the USA. For the current research, the participants were women aged 51–72 with no history of cancer.

Unlike other NSAIDs, aspirin has irreversible effects on cyclooxygenase (COX) enzymes, so the study authors looked for differences in cancer development according to whether women used aspirin or another kind of NSAID.

NSAID use was not linked to total risk of breast cancer in this study. However, when the team considered different cancer subtypes and specific types of NSAIDs, they found that daily aspirin use was associated with a small reduction (16%) in the risk of ER+ breast cancer. A similar link was not seen in cases of ER- breast cancer.

Diet

Fatty acids found in fish linked to lower risk of breast cancer

A high intake of fatty acids found in fish is associated with a 14% reduction in the risk of breast cancer in later life, finds a study published on bmj.com.

The results show that each 0.1 g per day or 0.1% energy per day increment of intake of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (n-3 PUFA) derived from fish was associated with a 5% reduction in risk. To achieve this risk reduction, intake of oily fish such as salmon, tuna or sardines should be 1-2 portions per person per week.

Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers, accounting for 23% of total cancer cases and 14% of cancer deaths in 2008. Studies suggest that a healthy diet and lifestyle is crucial for the prevention of breast cancer, and dietary fat is one of the most intensively studied dietary factors closely related with risk.

The n-3 PUFAs include ALA, EPA, DPA and DHA. They are involved in chemical messaging in the brain, helping to regulate blood vessel activity and areas of the immune system. The main dietary sources of EPA, DPA and DHA come from oily fish, while ALA is found mainly in nuts, seeds, and leafy green vegetables.

Although n-3 PUFAs are the most promising types of fat to reduce cancer risk, results from human studies are inconsistent.

So a team of researchers based in China set out to investigate the association between fish and n-3 PUFA intake and the risk of breast cancer. Levels were measured from both dietary sources and blood tests.

They reviewed and analyzed the results of 26 studies from the United States, Europe and Asia involving over 800,000 participants and over 20,000 cases of breast cancer.

Marine n-3 PUFA was associated with a 14% reduction of breast cancer between the highest and lowest category of marine n-3 PUFA intake. The risk was lowest in Asian populations, probably because fish intake is much higher in Asia than in western countries, say the authors.

Further analysis indicated a dose response: each 0.1 g per day or 0.1% energy per day increment of intake was associated with a 5% reduction in risk. However, no significant protective association was found for ALA - the plant based n-3 PUFA.

The authors say their analysis, together with previous publications, “supports a protective role of marine n-3 PUFA on the incidence of breast cancer.”

They conclude: “Our present study provides solid and robust evidence that marine n-3 PUFA are inversely associated with risk of breast cancer.”