Pink Ribbon: Breast Cancer Research

Breast Cancer Research

A cure for breast cancer is something we hope for, not only for the sake of current breast cancer patients, but for our daughters, mothers, and grandmothers. It is important that you know what kind of research is done with your donations, and where that research is now.
We have made a distinction between three types of research. Research on breast cancer:

Research can be done through various methods, such as clinical trials. A clinical trial, in health care, is a comparison test of a medication or other medical treatment (a mammogram), versus a placebo, other medications or devices, or the standard medical treatment for a patient's condition.
There are 5 types of trials:

Prevention trials: this is when the study aims to find a better way to prevent breast cancer in people who have never had the disease or to prevent the disease from returning. These approaches may include medicines, vitamins, vaccines, minerals, or lifestyle changes.
Screening trials: testing to find a better way to detect breast cancer.
Diagnostic trials: this is conducted to find better tests or procedures for diagnosing breast cancer.
Treatment trials: these are experimental treatments, new combinations of drugs, or new approaches to surgery or radiation therapy.
Quality of Life trials: these trials explore ways to improve comfort and the quality of life for woman fighting cancer. They are also known as Supportive Care trials.

These clinical trials are designed to answer key questions and to find out whether new approaches are safe and effective. To know more about clinical trials visit the Coalition of Cancer Cooperative Groups, a group aimed at improving the quality of life and survival of cancer patients by increasing participation in cancer clinical trials.
Women who participate in clinical trials are amongst the first to benefit if a new approach is effective. Even if a woman has no direct benefit from the clinical trial, they still make a valuable contribution by helping doctors learn more about breast cancer, and how to control it. Although clinical trials may pose some risks, researchers do all they can to protect their patients.
If you are interested in being part of a clinical trial, talk to your doctor. Trials are available for all stages of breast cancer. We recommend that before you sign up for a clinical trial, you read the research already completed, so you know what to expect. It may also help you to decide whether a clinical trial would be beneficial for you

Research on Prevention

Breast cancer prevention studies are clinical trials concerning women who have not had cancer, but are at risk of developing it. These trials explore the risk, or probability, of developing breast cancer. Through such studies, scientists hope to determine what steps are effective in reducing the risk of breast cancer.
The majority of breast cancer prevention research is based on evidence linking the development of this disease, in many cases, through exposure to hormone estrogen. The main focus of several recent breast cancer prevention studies has been with regards to the effectiveness of a series of drugs called selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs). SERMs are drugs which have some anti-estrogen properties and some estrogen-like properties. The anti-estrogen properties in the drugs may help reduce the risk of breast cancer by blocking the effect of estrogen on breast tissue. The estrogen-like properties may in turn help prevent the loss of bone density in postmenopausal women; however, SERMs may cause bone loss in premenopausal women.

Research on Detection

There are currently several new types of imaging methods that are being studied for use in evaluating abnormalities that may be breast cancers. Because this technology is still being tested, and researched, it is not yet available for commercial use. A few examples are:
Scintimammography
Similar to a PET scan, scintimammography uses a radioactive tracer, which is injected into the patients. The radioactive drug attaches to breast cancer cells, and can be detected by a special camera. Current research into scintimammography is aimed at improving the technology and evaluating its use in specific situations, such as in the dense breasts of premenopausal women.
Tomosynthesis
This is a technological extension to the already used digital mammogram. Tomosynthesis allows the breasts to be viewed as many think slices and has the possibility of providing more accurate, and earlier, diagnosis of breast cancer.
MRI-assisted Breast Biopsy
This new biopsy technique will make it possible to obtain tissue samples during a vacuum-assisted biopsy procedure with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-assisted guidance. This method allows many samples to be taken through a single small incision in the skin, using only local anesthesia. This biopsy technique is being studied in women with a personal or family history of breast cancer, those who have undergone previous breast surgery, and women with dense breast tissue who cannot get accurate screenings with tests such as ultrasound or mammograms.

Research on Treatment

The research into breast cancer treatment is an ongoing process. There are currently a few studies that are being investigated:
Newer Types of Mastectomy
This involves studies related to mastectomy that attempt to give better post-surgery cosmetic results.
Some studies suggest that a new procedure known as skin-sparing mastectomy may be as effective as the usual type of modified radical mastectomy for many women. The same amount of tissue is removed as with a modified radical mastectomy, but the majority of the skin over the breast is left intact, with the exception of the nipple and areola.
This is used when immediate breast reconstruction is planned, but is not always suitable for larger tumors, or tumors close to the skin. This form of reconstruction uses tissue from other parts of the body to reconstruct the breasts. While this approach is not as well-proven as the more standard type of mastectomy, many women prefer it because it leaves less scar tissue, and a breast that seems more natural.
Subcutaneous mastectomy is a newer approach, sometimes considered for preventive mastectomy. During this procedure the incision is made below the breast, where upon the breast tissue is removed, but the breast skin and nipple are left in place. The advantage of this procedure is that it leaves less visible scars, while at the same time leaving behind more breast tissue than other forms of mastectomy. Due to the fact that more breast tissue is left behind, the chances of cancer recurring is higher.
An even newer approach is the nipple-sparing mastectomy. This is similar to the skin-sparing mastectomy in that the nipple and the areola are cut away when the breast tissue is removed, but in this approach the nipple and areola are scraped clean of breast tissue and examined by a pathologist. As long as there are no breast cancer cells found close to the nipple and areola they are reattached.

Radiation Therapy
Accelerated partial breast irradiation (APBI): For women who need radiation after lumpectomy, APBI may offer a more convenient way to receive it (as opposed to the standard daily radiation treatments that take several weeks to complete). There are several types of APBI now being studied, including accelerated external radiation schedules, intraoperative radiation therapy (IORT), and intracavitary branchytherapy. Large studies are under way to determine if these techniques are as effective as standard radiation in helping to prevent cancer recurrences.

Chemotherapy
Dose dense chemotherapy: It has been suggested, through recent research, that a higher frequency of chemotherapy (every two weeks) at the usual dose may work better at preventing recurrence than the usual schedule (every 3 weeks). This aggressive schedule does mean that the patients must take growth factors to prevent low blood counts, a common, serious, side effect of chemotherapy. This form of chemotherapy is in the clinical trial 'stage' with the goal to define the role of dose density in adjuvant therapy.
New chemotherapy drugs: Advanced breast cancer is often hard to treat, therefore researchers are continuously looking for new drugs which are more effective than the older ones. An example of such a (experimental) drug is ixabepilone. In previous studies, the drug has been found to cause a significant percentage of breast tumors to shrink, or stop growing completely, even in women who have already had several types of chemotherapy.

Introduction

October is the official Breast Cancer Awareness Month, with each year being pinker than the last. Breast Cancer Awareness Month is all about increasing the awareness of the importance of early breast cancer detection.
The National Breast Cancer Awareness (NBCAM) program was founded in 1985 by Zeneca. Set up as a weeklong campaign aimed at promoting mammography as the most effective weapon in the fight against breast cancer. The NBCAM has now grown to an international phenomenon, with events and activities each October which increase awareness, and raise funds at the same time.

Pink Illumination

Each year dozens of world-famous landmarks are illuminated in pink light. This is to draw attention to the importance of mammography screening for early diagnosis of breast cancer, as well as the research for finding ways to cure and prevent breast cancer. Here are some pictures of past landmarks:

The Harbour Bridge, Sydney, Australia