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✍️ Muskan Mishra | MSc Biomedical Science student at Leeds Beckett University
What is breast cancer? 🎗️
Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women globally, accounting for around one out of every eight new cancer diagnoses.
Breast cancer develops when breast cells grow uncontrollably, forming a tumour that can be felt as a lump or seen in imaging tests. It can occur in both men and women but it is far more common in women.
About 5-10% of breast cancer cases are caused by inherited genetic mutations, most often in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, which significantly raise the risk of developing the disease in the future.
Breast cancer can be classified into numerous categories based on where it starts and how it develops. The most prevalent kinds are ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), a non-invasive form in which malignant cells remain in the milk ducts, and invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC), in which cancer cells penetrate the duct walls and invade surrounding tissue.
Another kind is invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC), which starts in the milk-producing lobules and spreads to surrounding tissue. Less frequent types are triple-negative breast cancer, which lacks hormone receptors and HER2, making treatment more difficult. Similarly, HER2-positive breast cancer is difficult to treat due to an overexpression of the HER2 protein, therefore promoting cancer growth. Rarer kinds, such as inflammatory breast cancer and Paget's disease of the breast, exhibit distinct symptoms and aggressive behaviours.
What are the treatment options? 💊
Breast cancer treatment is tailored to each patient and often combines surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, and targeted therapies.
The common treatments include surgery (lumpectomy or mastectomy) to remove the tumour, often followed by radiation therapy to target remaining cancer cells. Chemotherapy may be used to shrink tumours or eliminate cancer cells throughout the body. There are other options like hormonal and targeted therapies which can be given depending the type and stage of the cancer.
A recent study by UCLA investigators shows that cancer therapies, such as chemotherapy, might increase the chance of certain ageing-related conditions developing sooner, making it critical to identify the particular pathways associated in order to target and manage them more effectively.
What does recent research show?🔬
A recent study found that the signals which were previously assumed as generated by chemotherapy are also present in women undergoing radiation and surgery.
The scientists used RNA sequencing to examine gene expression in their blood cells, focussing on indicators that indicate biological ageing, such as cellular senescence, which occurs when cells stop proliferating but do not die. These zombie cells build up over time and can emit toxic compounds that injure nearby healthy cells, adding to ageing and inflammation.
A particular protein (p16INK4a) associated with ageing and cell damage had about three times more detectable levels of expression in women of about 55 years old who received chemotherapy (CT) with or without radiation therapy (RT).
In conclusion, the study indicates that women treated for breast cancer are ageing inside their immune cells, creating greater risk of age-related disorders.
What's Next? 🔮
The goal is to find ways to improve survivorship, not just in terms of years lived, but also in quality of life and overall health.
The research team is currently looking into a novel biomarker that can detect a woman's biological age and the rate at which she is ageing. This might help evaluate if the ageing signals observed after cancer therapy have long-term implications for biological age.
They also intend to look at factors that might impact this, with an emphasis on protective behaviours including exercise, stress management, and healthy sleep habits.
Edited by: Olivia Laughton | Lead Content Editor | BSc Microbiology, University of Leeds
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