breast cancer risks Archives - SavingAdvice.com Blog

Fighting against cancer has been an ongoing focus of research centers. Research has shown that certain foods can help cancer patients through treatment and proton therapy may help children’s brain cancer. Most recently, scientists have also found out more information regarding breast cancer, one of the leading causes of death in the United States.

According to new research, DNA analysis of normal breast tissue can be used to calculate a woman’s risk of developing breast cancer later in life. The research team at the University College London took a look at 668 breast tissue samples from 50 cancer-free women and 42 women with cancer. They analyzed both normal and cancerous tissue.

In more than 30 percent of cases, the research team found that the alterations in DNA expression matched those of cancer samples. According to researchers, this could indicate the reprogramming of cells from normal to cancerous in patients.

According to the study papers, researchers said, “Importantly a large component of the detected variable epigenetic signature was enriched in the corresponding breast cancer tissue, supporting the view of the researchers that this variable epigenetic signature marks susceptible precursor cells crucially involved in breast cancer development. Furthermore, those cases of breast cancer which were exhibiting epigenetic changes were associated with significantly poorer prognosis and a decreased level of survivorship from the disease.”

Researchers named the study “Vital clues to future cancer development in normal breast tissue DNA.” They aim to find out how breast cancer develops from normal cells to cancer cells using the information from the study. Because breast cancer is one of the most common forms of cancer and leads to health issues for millions of women across the world, researchers have singled it out as one of the most important areas of research when it comes to the deadly disease.

If the findings of this study prove to be true, they will be able to track the development of breast cancer in women before they even show signs. Women with certain breast cancer cells will be at higher risk and they will be able to keep a closer eye on their breast health.

Professor Martin Widschwendter, Head of Department of Women’s Cancer at University College London, was quoted a, “These new findings are important in supporting further research into women’s cancer development and prevention. We are working hard to understand the risk factors associated with epigenetic changes in normal breast tissue and how these pre dispose a woman to cancer. The application of these altered epigenetic signatures hold the key developing new interventions that could ‘switch off’ this epigenetic defect and hold the key to preventing cancer development.”

Although the research is only in its beginning stages, the team’s findings already has the potential to saves millions of lives as well as save millions of women around the world the pain of going through breast cancer treatment.

Photo: Flickr: Erik Söderström

Study: eating red meat increases the risks of breast cancer

Women who thought it might be okay to begin eating red meat again might want to take a moment to reconsider. It seems women who want to reduce their risk of breast cancer should substitute a meal consisting of red meat with one of poultry or fish. In a new study spanning a 20 year period which included 89,000 women, the findings suggested women who ate the most red meat increased their risk of contracting breast cancer by approximately 25%. If, however, they replaced the daily serving of red meat with some combination of poultry, fish, nuts and legumes, the study indicated women would lower their risk of breast cancer by 14%. The study was published online in the journal BMJ.

The lead researcher of the study, Maryam Farvid, who works at the Harvard School of Public Health’s Department of Nutrition, noted women who ate 1.5 servings of red meat each day had a 22% higher risk of breast cancer than those who only had a serving of red meat once a week. The risk increased substantially for those who had even more red meat on a daily basis. Women who ate red meat more than 1.5 times a day increased their chances of getting breast cancer by 13% for each additional serving they had on a daily basis.

Those women who ate more poultry ended up lowering their risk of getting breast cancer. The study found substituting a single serving the day of red meat with poultry ended up reducing the risk of breast cancer by 17% for all women, and by 24% among women who were postmenopausal.

The study is considered observational, so it doesn’t prove directly that consuming more red meat will have the direct result in increasing a woman’s risk of getting breast cancer. There could be a number of different reasons for the findings. For example, since red meat is often cooked at high temperatures, there may have been cancer-causing byproducts from the cooking process which raise the risk.

Another possibility for the larger risk could be due to hormones used to increase the growth of beef cattle. The results may also have been due to nitrates, which are often found in processed meat, and which have been associated in other studies with an elevated risk of breast cancer. Or it could be that women who eat less red meat simply live healthier lifestyles than those who consume it on a regular basis, and this healthier lifestyle is what reduces the risk of cancer.

Eating less red meat also has a huge positive financial consequence. Beef prices are currently at a 27 year high, so switching to poultry or fish also makes financial sense beyond the health benefits.

(Photo courtesy of Ernesto Andrade)

DNA Analysis of Healthy Breast Tissue May Indicate Risk of Cancer

Women Should Substitute Poultry for Red Meat to Reduce Breast Cancer Risk