Researchers at Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center have uncovered genetics and other characteristics that can predict if a woman is at risk for a recurrence of breast cancer, opening up new research possibilities for avoiding the development of a new tumor.
The breakthrough was made possible by a cutting-edge technique created at Georgetown Lombardi that allows laboratory researchers to substantially expand, or multiply difficult-to-extract breast tissue cells.
Epithelial cells
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The researchers have concentrated on breast epithelial cells, which are the layer of cells that create the ducts and lobes that produce milk during lactation.
The cells were retrieved from provided non-cancerous tissue in the same breast that had malignant tissue excised during a mastectomy, as per ScienceDaily.
The experts were looking for a range of factors that may lead to relapse, but their main emphasis was the transcriptome, which is the full set of RNA sequences in a cell that helps control when and where each gene is switched on or off in a cell.
They discovered substantial alterations in genes that had previously been identified as prognostic indications for malignancy.
"When a person is diagnosed with breast cancer, we have several types of equipment, including testing for genes such as BRCA1/2, to decide whether they should receive certain forms of chemotherapy or just hormonal treatment, but our approaches aren't as accurate as we'd want," says Priscilla Furth, M.D., professor of oncology and medicine at Georgetown Lombardi. In the developed world, one of every eight women is diagnosed with breast cancer.
Breast cancer can affect both men and women, although it affects women significantly more frequently.
Sources available for breast cancer awareness and funding for research have aided in the advancement of breast cancer detection and therapy, as per Mayo Clinic.
Breast cancer survival rates have grown, and the number of fatalities connected with the disease has progressively decreased, owing to variables such as earlier identification, a new customized approach to therapy, and a better knowledge of the disease.
Breast cancer develops when some breast cells begin to grow abnormally, according to doctors.
These cells grow more quickly than normal tissues and persist to aggregate up, forming a lump or mass. Breast cancer cells can spread or metastasis to your lymphatic system or other parts of your body.
Cells in the milk-producing ducts, also known as invasive ductal carcinoma, are the most prevalent cause of breast cancer.
Breast cancer can also begin in the breast tissues known as lobules (invasive lobular carcinoma), as well as other cells or tissues inside the breast.
Researchers have identified hormones, lifestyle, and environmental factors as risk factors for breast cancer.
However, it is unclear why some people with no risk factors acquire cancer and others with risk factors never do.
Breast cancer is most likely caused by a complicated combination of your biological profile and your surroundings.
A breast cancer risk factor is anything that increases your chances of developing breast cancer.
However, having one or more breast cancer risk factors does not guarantee that you will get breast cancer.
Many women who acquire breast cancer have no recognized risk factors other than the fact that they are female.
