News by Subject Medicine & Health

New research provides insight into how changes that occur with age may predispose breast tissue cells to becoming cancerous. Specifically, the study demonstrates that regions in the genome where DNA methylation changes occur with age are particularly sensitive to disruption in cancer. This new data provides insight into how certain molecular changes with age in normal breast tissue itself may contribute to breast cancer risk.

Genetic mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2 increase the risk of breast and ovarian cancer in Ashkenazi Jewish women. A new article published by JAMA Oncology examines the likelihood of carrying another cancer-predisposing mutation in BRCA1, BRCA2 or another breast cancer gene among women of Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry with breast cancer who do not carry one of the founder mutations.

Of the women who carry the mutated BRCA1/2 genes, 45-65 percent will develop breast cancer, and 15-39 percent will develop ovarian cancer. Many women elect to undergo preventive surgeries that can significantly increase life expectancy, but can impact later fertility. However, few guidelines exist on the optimal age to undergo these procedures, and in what sequence. A new study in the INFORMS journal Decision Analysis provides insight to help physicians and patients make better-informed choices.

Researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center, now called UT Health San Antonio, report a new, previously unrecognized function of the BRCA1 gene that explains why BRCA1 gene mutation carriers are at increased risk of breast and ovarian cancer.

In a study that could explain why some breast cancers are more aggressive than others, researchers say they now understand how cancer cells force normal cells to act like viruses - allowing tumors to grow, resist treatment, and spread. The virus mimic is detected in the blood of cancer patients, particularly in cases of an aggressive type known as triple-negative breast cancer. Penn researchers say cracking the code of how this process works opens up the possibility of targeting this mechanism for treatment.

The American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) has issued an update to its recommendations for medical insurance coverage regarding the use of proton beam therapy to treat cancer.

A ground-breaking new class of oral drugs for treating breast cancer, known as cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) inhibitors, are generally well-tolerated, with a manageable toxicity profile for most patients.

It's a metabolite found in essentially all our cells that, like so many things, cancer overexpresses. Now scientists have shown that when they inhibit 20-HETE, it reduces both the size of a breast cancer tumor and its ability to spread to the lungs.