Curbing breast cancer's craving for sugar

Posted by Neill Abayon

Researchers have discovered a way to potentially combat chemotherapy-resistant breast cancer, according to a study published in the journal Chemical Science.


Breast Cancer Campaign (BCC) scientists at the University of Southampton in the UK have come across a way of curbing breast cancer cells' craving for sugar.

Research has shown that cancer cells thrive on sugar from the blood. The cells process sugar as a fuel supply that encourages C-terminal binding proteins (CtBPs) to bind together. This process forms pairs of cells called "dimers," which enable the cancer cells to grow and multiply.

CtBPs can be 'blocked'

The researchers developed a variety of chemicals called cyclic peptide inhibitors, which can block CtBPs from forming. When tested on breast cancer cells, the most effective chemical for this process was found to be CP61.
The researchers say they are now developing CP61 to be used as a form of breast cancer treatment.
Dr. Jeremy Blaydes of the university's faculty of medicine says that although there have been major improvements in the treatment of breast cancer, chemotherapy-resistance eventually happens in around 20% of breast cancer cases. Chemotherapy-resistance shows when cancers that had previously responded to therapy suddenly begin to grow.

More here.

Fish oils may be linked to reduced breast cancer risk

Oily fish are rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids

Posted by Neill Abayon

"Eating two portions of oily fish [a week] could protect women against breast cancer," reports the Mail Online website. The story comes from an analysis of the best available evidence on the link between oily fish and breast cancer risk.

Researchers were particularly interested in assessing the effects of a type of fatty acid called omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (n-3 PUFAs). These fatty acids are found in oily fish such as salmon and tuna, and some plant sources.

The analysis included more than 800,000 women. Just over 20,000 of these women developed breast cancer during follow-up. Women with the highest intake of n-3 PUFAs from fish (marine) sources were found to have a 14% reduction in risk of breast cancer compared with women with the lowest intake.

However, as with all observational studies and reviews, the pooled results may be affected by factors (confounders) other than marine n-3 PUFA intake. For example, women who eat a lot of fish may be more likely to lead healthier lifestyles, such as not smoking.

But a link between n-3 PUFAs and a reduced cancer risk is plausible – n-3 PUFAs are known to reduce the production of the hormone oestrogen, which can stimulate abnormal cell growth.

Overall, this review is a good summary of the current state of knowledge about the link between n-3 PUFA intake and risk of breast cancer.

Continue here.

Long-Term Night Shift Working Linked to Breast Cancer

Photo source

Posted by Neill Abayon


Researchers have found that women who work night shifts for more than 30 years may be at a higher risk of breast cancer than other women.

The study, published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ), was done by researchers in Canada. They analyzed the careers of 1,134 women with breast cancer and 1,179 women without the disease.
The women, all of the same age, were questioned about their shift work patterns throughout their employment history, and hospital records were used to determine their tumor type.
Around 1 in 3 women in both groups of the study had worked night shifts. The research revealed that women who had worked night shifts for up to 14 years or for between 15 and 29 years had no increased risk of developing breast cancer. But the women who had worked night shifts for 30 years or more were twice as likely to develop the disease.

The full article is here.

Nano-ray of hope for Breast Cancer sufferers

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Published by Amy Fernandes

Angelina Jolie’s recent double mastectomy has highlighted the debate on breast cancer. The fact remains, however, that the number of new cases of breast cancer has jumped dramatically worldwide, from about 640,000 in 1980 to more than 1.6 million in 2010, according to the University of Washington researchers’ report. One of the many causes for fatalities is the high toxicity of the treatment and the current disability of affected cells to absorb the dosage.

As for the triple negative breast cancer sufferers this becomes even harder to treat. These breast cancers do not respond to hormonal therapy and require more than one chemotherapy drug for treatment. Unfortunately, such combination chemotherapy increases the toxicity of the treatment, often limiting the extent of therapy tolerated. Further, many women with triple negative breast cancer develop “multidrug resistance” which makes them insensitive to anticancer drugs similar to the concept of antibiotic resistance.

Continue reading here.

Researchers Spot New Risk Factors for Breast Cancer

Posted by Neill Abayon

Dense breasts, no lobular involution increase odds, researchers find.

(HealthDay News) -- Women with dense breasts and no lobular involution -- an age-related change in breast tissue -- are at increased risk for breast cancer, a new study finds.

It included 2,666 women, aged 18 to 85, with benign breast disease who were followed for an average of 13.3 years. During that time, 172 (6.5 percent) of the women developed breast cancer.

The Mayo Clinic researchers found that breast density and lobular involution were independent risk factors for breast cancer.

The study appears online in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

"Our findings also reveal that having a combination of dense breasts and no lobular involution was associated with higher breast cancer risk than having non-dense or fatty breasts and complete involution," they wrote in a news release from the publisher.

"Lobular involution is the physiological atrophy of the breast epithelium [the top layer of cells] and is known to increase with increasing age," the news release explained.

Breast density and lobular involution are factors that "hold promise for improving [breast cancer] risk prediction, particularly since they reflect the cumulative interplay of numerous genetic and environmental breast cancer risk factors over time," Gretchen L. Gierach, of the U.S. National Cancer Institute, and colleagues wrote in the news release.

Other known breast cancer risk factors are age, family history and age at first menstrual cycle.

More information

The U.S. National Cancer Institute has more about breast cancer risk.

(SOURCE: Journal of the National Cancer Institute, news release, Nov. 1, 2010)

Elevated insulin link to increased breast cancer risk

Posted by Neill Abayon

Findings on older women based on women's health initiative study

July 9, 2009 - (BRONX, NY) - Elevated insulin levels in the blood appear to raise the risk of breast cancer in postmenopausal women, according to researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University. Their findings are published in the online version of the International Journal of Cancer.

Increased breast cancer risk for postmenopausal women has previously been linked to obesity and diabetes. Both conditions involve insulin resistance, which causes increases in circulating levels of insulin. Since insulin is known to promote cell division and enhance breast tumor growth in animal models, the Einstein scientists reasoned that relatively high insulin levels may contribute to breast cancer risk in women.

"Up to now, only a few studies have directly investigated whether insulin levels are associated with breast cancer risk, and those studies have yielded conflicting results," says Geoffrey Kabat, Ph.D., senior epidemiologist in the department of epidemiology and population health at Einstein and the lead author of the paper. "Those other studies were based on just a single baseline measurement of insulin, while our study involved analyzing repeated measurements of insulin taken over several years — which provides a more accurate picture of the possible association between insulin levels and breast cancer risk."

An earlier study linking insulin levels with breast cancer risk was carried out by Einstein researchers and was published in the January 7, 2009 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

Read the full article here.

Three Cups of Tea a Day Slashes Your Breast Cancer Risk

Posted by Neill Abayon

Just three cups of tea a day could slash the risk of breast cancer in young women, according to new research.

The chances of developing a tumour dropped by around 37 per cent in women under 50 who drank tea at least three times daily.

But older women who consumed similar amounts did not see any benefit, the study found.

Researchers think the anti-cancer properties of tea may have a more potent effect on the types of tumours that tend to grow in younger women.

Around 40,000 women a year in Britain are diagnosed with breast cancer. The disease affects one in nine women at some point in their lives.

Risk factors range from being overweight and having a family history of the disease to smoking and going through the menopause.

Although the health benefits of tea are well known, most of the evidence centres on heart disease.

A study last year showed four cups a day could reduce the risk of a heart attack.

But other recent studies suggest tea can protect against skin cancer, ovarian cancer and even weak bones.

Read the full article here.