Breast Cancer Research

Doctors use breast cancer research to uncover the causes of breast cancer, and how to best treat and prevent breast cancer. Research on breast cancer is being done all over the world. Doctors hope to use breast cancer research so that you and many others can better understand and overcome the disease.

Research on breast cancer looks at the lifestyle factors that could put you at risk. Researchers are looking into the impact of obesity and fat in your diet as a cause of breast cancer. It also looks into genetic factors. For example, having the BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene mutations from a parent increases the risk of having breast cancer. Doctors have identified more and more genes related to breast cancer.

Some research is looking into environmental factors on a large scale. They are looking at over 50,000 women for a minimum of ten years. They will gather lifestyle, environment and genetic data on women with breast cancer. Then, they will compare those things to women who don’t have breast cancer. The study calls itself the Sister Study.

Research means new drugs, new treatments, and moving one step closer to a cure.

Research on breast cancer looks at prevention of breast cancer through the use of drugs like Tamoxifen and Raloxifene. These drugs are anti-estrogen drugs that block estrogen receptors in the breasts. (High estrogen levels are associated with an increased risk of breast cancer.) These medications help women after menopause, and help prevent breast cancer.

There are new drugs called aromatase inhibitors. They reduce breast cancer in women who are past menopause. Right now they are just being researched. They haven’t been approved for breast cancer prevention yet.

Research on breast cancer looks at things like tumor markers which can tell if a cancer has come back after treatment. It will help to pick out which treatments to use and which ones are effective. They have found that certain genes in women cause more aggressive cancers than others. These are the cancers that are more likely to come back than less aggressive cancers. These cancer markers also help determine whether or not a woman has breast cancer at all.

"With all of this new research, you can feel confident that you stand a strong chance of surviving breast cancer. Every day, treatments are getting more effective, and researchers are getting one step closer to a cancer cure." Breast cancer research helps classify the different types of cancer. The newer ways of classifying breast cancer are based on how they look under the microscope. There appears to be 4 different kinds, including the luminal A and B type cancers that have estrogen receptors.

Doctors have discovered that, besides the luminal A and B cancers, there are HER2 type cancers that have extra copies of the HER2 gene. They have a worse prognosis than luminal cancers. These breast cancers are absent of any normal receptors, so they are harder to treat. They tend to be found in young women or in African American women. Women have a poor prognosis if they have this type of cancer.

Advanced breast cancer research focuses mostly on treatment.

New types of mastectomies are being studied by doctors all over the world. Some of the mastectomies don't disfigure the breast as much as older ones used to. One study is looking at skin-sparing mastectomies that save the skin except for the nipple and the areola. It allows for you to have a breast implant easily and safely after the surgery.

A subcutaneous mastectomy is also called a preventative mastectomy. In this surgery, the breast tissue is removed. An implant is replaced, but the nipple and areola are left intact. This prevents any cancer from forming on that side of the breast due to hereditary or other factors.

Nipple sparing surgery is done whenever the breast cancer is nowhere near the nipple or areola. The area is tested for cancer and the nipple is left behind. A breast implant can be done at the same time, as well. This is part of breast reconstruction.

Chemotherapy is being studied at research centers all over the world as well. Doctors are looking at dose dense chemotherapy that is a change from the usual schedule of chemotherapy. New chemotherapy drugs are being tested all the time, including those that target the tumor cells only. There is research on targeting HER 2 receptor-positive cancer cells only, too.

With all of this new research, you can feel confident that you stand a strong chance of surviving breast cancer. Every day, treatments are getting more effective, and researchers are getting one step closer to a cancer cure.