Spotting Breast Cancer Risk Years Before It Occurs
Scientists from Imperial College London say that women with very high levels of methylation in an area of a gene, known as ATM, had double the risk of going on to develop breast cancer, compared to those without the faulty gene. Their study, which has been published in the journal Cancer Research, found that a woman's risk of breast cancer may be decided several years before the disease develops. Dr James Flanagan say he has uncovered compelling evidence that "epigenetic" gene changes may be linked with breast cancer risk.
Long-Lasting Fatigue After Breast Cancer Less Common Than Thought
Although breast cancer-related fatigue is common, it generally runs a self-limiting course and does not persist as long as people had thought; especially in cases of early-stage breast cancer, researchers reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. The authors explained that long-term fatigue, which is often disabling, is common after patients undergo treatment for cancer. However, they added that studies had not extensively looked at how persistent CRF (cancer-related fatigue) was; i.
Possible New Cancer Treatment Identified
New research findings show how it may be possible to render cancer tumours harmless without affecting the other cells and tissues in the body. The findings apply to cancers including breast, lung and bowel cancer. The study was carried out at Lund University in Sweden. Many of the most common chemotherapy drugs used to treat cancer have serious side effects because they not only affect the cells in the cancer tumour, but also the cells in the rest of the body. Researchers at Lund University have now found a connection between two proteins that in different ways control cell division and the possibilities for a cancer tumour to develop.