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Drug May Block Breast Cancer in High-Risk Women
June 22, 2016
(CNN) Scientists might have just pinpointed a nonsurgical way for women at a high risk of breast cancer to minimize their chances of developing the devastating disease.
About 12% of all women across the United States will develop breast cancer in their lifetime, according to the National Cancer Institute. However, about 65% of women with a mutation in the breast cancer gene BRCA1 will develop breast cancer by age 70. Women with the mutated gene have very few options to minimize that risk. Most, including actress Angelina Jolie, resort to a mastectomy as a preventive measure.
The beginnings of a breast tumor are shown in green in this visualization.
But a new study, published in the journal Nature Medicine on Monday, suggests that a drug already on the market to treat osteoporosis could be another option in the fight against breast cancer. The research shows that the drug, denosumab, can stop certain breast tissue cells with the mutation from morphing into cancerous tumors, said Jane Visvader, a scientist at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research in Australia and a co-author of the study. “If this is an effective prevention strategy, then our hope is that it will be possible to prevent or delay breast cancer in women with a BRCA1 mutation and possibly other women at high genetic risk,” she said. “It would be great if this strategy could ‘buy time’ for women considering having mastectomies.”
Read More – Source: Drug might block breast cancer in women with BRCA1 gene mutation – CNN.com
Also, see the video on new Breast Cancer Screening guide.