Breast milk may provide a personalized screen of breast cancer risk
Breast cancer risk can be assessed by examining the epithelial cells found in breast milk, according to preliminary study results presented at the AACR 102nd Annual Meeting 2011, held April 2-6. This screening method has the potential to provide a personalized assessment of breast cancer risk, said lead researcher Kathleen F. Arcaro, Ph.D., associate professor of veterinary and animal sciences at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Given that roughly 80 percent of women give birth, this screen would also cover a large percentage of the female population.
Arcaro and colleagues collected breast milk samples from about 250 women who were scheduled for or who had a breast biopsy. The women submitted fresh samples, which were processed within 24 hours of expression; they provided samples from both breasts.
The researchers recruited about 90 percent of their study population from the Love/Avon Army of Women, which registers women who are willing to participate in breast cancer research. The American Association for Cancer Research is the scientific partner in this effort.
Once researchers received the samples, they isolated the epithelial cells (the potentially cancerous cells) in the breast milk. Then they isolated the DNA to look for epigenetic signals (attachment of methyl groups to DNA), which are the signals that tell the body those genes that should be expressed. These signals were then compared with breast cancer risk assessed using the biopsy results.
Arcaro and colleagues analyzed three genes: RASSF1, GSTP1 and SFRP1. "More than 35 genes have been shown to be methylated in breast cancer," she said.
Of the 104 women with a non-proliferative (low-risk) lesion, results showed no difference in the average epithelial DNA methylation of their biopsied breast vs. non-biopsied breast for RASSF1 and GSTP1. For SFRP1, however, the average methylation was higher in the biopsied breast. Importantly, among the women whose biopsies revealed cancer, there was a significant increase in average RASSF1 methylation in the biopsied breast vs. non-biopsied breast. Although the sample size in this study is small, "it's sufficient to tell us that we can use the cells in breast milk to assess breast cancer risk," Arcaro said, and additional studies are needed to expand the number of genes. Long-term studies are currently underway with about 80 percent of the original participants enrolled in follow-up.
Arcaro hopes that someday every woman who delivers a baby in a hospital will be screened for breast cancer via breast milk. "We'll take a little sample of colostrum, and we'll tell her how her breasts are doing," she said. "It's totally noninvasive, potentially inexpensive and really accurate."
Source: American Association for Cancer Research
Articles on the same topic
- Physical health scores predict breast cancer outcomesWed, 6 Apr 2011, 12:37:28 UTC
- Soy isoflavones not a risk for breast cancer survivorsTue, 5 Apr 2011, 17:36:19 UTC
- Fox Chase researchers show vitamin A derivative can inhibit early forms of breast cancer Tue, 5 Apr 2011, 17:36:17 UTC
- Extreme weight gain raises risk for recurrence among breast cancer survivorsTue, 5 Apr 2011, 12:36:27 UTC
- Genomic signature in post-menopausal women may explain why pregnancy reduces breast cancer risk Tue, 5 Apr 2011, 12:36:26 UTC
- Large weight gain raises risk for recurrence among breast cancer survivorsTue, 5 Apr 2011, 12:36:24 UTC
- Study confirms genetic differences in breast tissue among racesMon, 4 Apr 2011, 15:35:38 UTC
- Young women with breast cancer have little fertility knowledge: SurveyMon, 4 Apr 2011, 15:08:07 UTC
- 2 sets of genes predict response to lung cancer drugMon, 4 Apr 2011, 14:36:25 UTC
- Smoking did not influence breast cancer risk among obese womenSun, 3 Apr 2011, 20:36:33 UTC
- Many US women have children by more than one manFri, 1 Apr 2011, 17:34:44 UTC
- Pilot study examines stress, anxiety and needs of young women with a unique breast cancerThu, 31 Mar 2011, 20:03:11 UTC
- Certain breast cancer patients worry excessively about recurrence Mon, 28 Mar 2011, 8:02:23 UTC
- Some women worry too much about breast cancer returning, U-M study findsMon, 28 Mar 2011, 8:02:21 UTC
Other sources
- Physical health scores predict breast cancer outcomesfrom PhysorgWed, 6 Apr 2011, 13:01:12 UTC
- Large Weight Gain May Harm Breast Cancer Survivorsfrom Live ScienceWed, 6 Apr 2011, 1:00:30 UTC
- Soy isoflavones not a risk for breast cancer survivors, study findsfrom Science DailyTue, 5 Apr 2011, 20:26:22 UTC
- Soy isoflavones not a risk for breast cancer survivorsfrom PhysorgTue, 5 Apr 2011, 17:31:16 UTC
- Vitamin A derivative can inhibit early forms of breast cancerfrom PhysorgTue, 5 Apr 2011, 17:31:15 UTC
- Human-like milk made by GM cowsfrom CBC: HealthTue, 5 Apr 2011, 17:30:45 UTC
- Breast milk may harbor cancer cluesfrom Sciencenews.orgTue, 5 Apr 2011, 16:40:16 UTC
- Cows produce version of human breast milkfrom CBSNews - ScienceTue, 5 Apr 2011, 16:33:07 UTC
- Large weight gain raises risk for recurrence among breast cancer survivorsfrom PhysorgTue, 5 Apr 2011, 14:01:14 UTC
- Genomic signature in post-menopausal women may explain why pregnancy reduces breast cancer riskfrom PhysorgTue, 5 Apr 2011, 14:00:59 UTC
- Human-like milk made by GM cowsfrom CBC: Technology & ScienceTue, 5 Apr 2011, 14:00:21 UTC
- Extreme weight gain raises risk for recurrence among breast cancer survivorsfrom Science DailyTue, 5 Apr 2011, 13:30:26 UTC
- Genomic signature in post-menopausal women may explain why pregnancy reduces breast cancer riskfrom Science DailyTue, 5 Apr 2011, 13:30:22 UTC
- Genetically modified cows producing human breast milkfrom PhysorgTue, 5 Apr 2011, 12:04:36 UTC
- Breast Milk May Hint at Breast Cancer Riskfrom Live ScienceTue, 5 Apr 2011, 6:30:14 UTC
- Cows produce version of human breast milkfrom CBSNews - ScienceMon, 4 Apr 2011, 21:00:53 UTC
- Cow milk closely mimics that of human breastfrom MSNBC: ScienceMon, 4 Apr 2011, 19:30:32 UTC
- Genetically Modified Cows Produce Milk Akin To Human Milkfrom PopSciMon, 4 Apr 2011, 18:30:49 UTC
- Young women with breast cancer have little fertility knowledge, Australian survey findsfrom Science DailyMon, 4 Apr 2011, 17:31:42 UTC
- Cows Produce Version of Human Breast Milkfrom Live ScienceMon, 4 Apr 2011, 16:33:10 UTC
- Study confirms genetic differences in breast tissue among racesfrom PhysorgMon, 4 Apr 2011, 15:31:20 UTC
- Breast milk may provide a personalized screen of breast cancer riskfrom Science BlogMon, 4 Apr 2011, 14:31:16 UTC
- Breast milk may provide a personalized screen of breast cancer riskfrom PhysorgMon, 4 Apr 2011, 13:31:00 UTC
- N.S. mothers answer plea for breast milkfrom CBC: HealthMon, 4 Apr 2011, 12:31:03 UTC
- 'Poor' knowledge about breast cancer and fertilityfrom PhysorgMon, 4 Apr 2011, 12:02:56 UTC
- Women missing fertility factsfrom Science AlertMon, 4 Apr 2011, 11:30:42 UTC
- New way to predict breast cancer survival and enhance effectiveness of treatmentfrom Science DailyMon, 4 Apr 2011, 2:30:35 UTC
- Smoking does not influence breast cancer risk among obese women, study suggestsfrom Science DailyMon, 4 Apr 2011, 1:30:21 UTC
- Smoking did not influence breast cancer risk among obese women: studyfrom PhysorgSun, 3 Apr 2011, 21:00:29 UTC
- Weight may affect smokers' breast cancer riskfrom AP HealthSun, 3 Apr 2011, 20:31:06 UTC
- Many US women have children by more than one manfrom Science DailyFri, 1 Apr 2011, 20:32:20 UTC
- Many US women have children by more than one manfrom PhysorgFri, 1 Apr 2011, 17:30:50 UTC
- Pilot study examines stress, anxiety and needs of young women with a unique breast cancerfrom Science DailyThu, 31 Mar 2011, 21:30:44 UTC
- Pilot study examines stress, anxiety and needs of young women with a unique breast cancerfrom PhysorgThu, 31 Mar 2011, 20:00:29 UTC
- The future of breast cancer preventionfrom PhysorgThu, 31 Mar 2011, 12:32:23 UTC
- Some women worry too much about breast cancer returning, study findsfrom Science DailyMon, 28 Mar 2011, 15:30:46 UTC
- Some women worry too much about breast cancer returningfrom Science BlogMon, 28 Mar 2011, 13:30:34 UTC
- Some women worry too much about breast cancer returning, study findsfrom PhysorgMon, 28 Mar 2011, 8:01:04 UTC