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Black Women Should Be Screened For Breast Cancer Earlier: Study

Black women have a higher breast cancer mortality rate.Shutterstock

Experts believe implicit bias in the medical industry prevents black women from receiving adequate care compared to their white counterparts.

"There are systemic issues, access to care issues that really go beyond biology," Dr. Arif Kamal, the chief patient officer for the American Cancer Society, told CNN.

"The reality is cancer affects everybody and it does not discriminate. Where the discrimination sometimes occurs is after the diagnosis, and that's really what we need to focus on."

Dr. Rachel Freedman, a breast oncologist at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute who was not involved in the study, told the outlet that while current guidelines do account for cancer risk, "race and ethnicity have not been traditional factors that go into these decisions."

"This study confirms that the age of breast cancer-mortality is younger for black women, but it doesn't confirm why and if screening is even the main reason," she added, pointing to the lack of access to the patients' screening history.

"We have no information about the types of cancers women developed and what treatment they had either, both of which impact mortality from breast cancer."

While screening can catch breast cancer earlier — saving lives — 

the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also warns of the risks, which include over-diagnosis, over-treatment and radiation exposure.

The agency named false positives as a potential harm, which not only cause patient stress, but also result in further tests that can be invasive and costly.

"While some may argue that earlier screening may lead to increased recalls and unnecessary biopsies, women get recalled for additional imaging about 10% of the time and biopsies are needed in 1-2% of cases, which is quite low," Dr. Kathie-Ann Joseph, a surgical oncologist at the Perlmutter Cancer Center at NYU Langone, told CNN.

"This has to be compared to the lives saved from earlier screening mammography," continued the surgery and population health professor. "I would also like to point out that while we certainly want to prevent deaths, earlier screening can have other benefits by allowing women of all racial and ethnic groups to have less extensive surgery and less chemotherapy which impacts quality of life."

Cancer Researchers Identify New Target For Breast Cancer Therapy

While trying to understand what initiates breast cells to become cancerous, researchers at the Vera Bradley Foundation Center for Breast Cancer Research at Indiana University Melvin and Bren Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center have identified a new target for breast cancer treatment.

"When comparing healthy breast tissue and cancerous cells, we wanted to find out what is the earliest genomic change that happens to initiate the cancer," said Harikrishna Nakshatri, Ph.D., the Marian J. Morrison professor of breast cancer research at IU School of Medicine and a researcher with the Vera Bradley Foundation Center for Breast Cancer Research at the IU Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center. "In that process, we identified a gene called TONSL that can make breast cells proliferate indefinitely."

Nakshatri and his research team found the TONSL gene is amplified in about 20 percent of breast cancers, and more than 30 percent of metastatic breast cancers. They used healthy breast cells from the Komen Tissue Bank at the IU Simon Comprehensive Cancer Center to understand the earliest changes in healthy cells as they become cancerous.

Their findings, "TONSL Is an Immortalizing Oncogene and a Therapeutic Target in Breast Cancer," were published this week in the journal Cancer Research.

"Most of the cancer research to date is focused on understanding what happens when cancer progresses, but the earliest event that leads to cancer initiation has been the hardest to figure out," Nakshatri said. "The very initial step in cancer is that these cells gain the ability to proliferate, and that's the very first step that we have been able to make in models using tissue from the Komen tissue bank."

Nakshatri said the TONSL protein works with other proteins, including one called FACT. In the breast cancer models his team created with the TONSL amplification, the breast cancer was highly susceptible to an existing drug that targets that FACT complex. Now researchers hope these findings can be translated for future breast cancer treatments.

"Breast cancer is a diverse disease with different subtypes, and some patients respond to the different treatments, and others do not. With 20 percent of breast cancer patients having amplification of this gene, more research is very important to target TONSL," said Aditi Khatpe, first author of the paper and an IU School of Medicine doctorate student.

Khatpe, a cancer center trainee in Nakshatri's lab, received the AACR-Sanofi Scholar-in-Training Award for the research abstract highlighting these findings. She presented the research poster at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) 2023 Annual Meeting this week.

More information: Aditi S. Khatpe et al, TONSL Is an Immortalizing Oncogene and a Therapeutic Target in Breast Cancer, Cancer Research (2023). DOI: 10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-22-3667

Citation: Cancer researchers identify new target for breast cancer therapy (2023, April 20) retrieved 21 April 2023 from https://medicalxpress.Com/news/2023-04-cancer-breast-therapy.Html

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Breast Cancer Survivor Running London Marathon Topless Following Double Mastectomy

Breast cancer survivor Louise Butcher is running the London Marathon topless to empower other women who have had mastectomies. (Louise Butcher/SWNS)

A breast cancer survivor who had a double mastectomy is running this weekend's London Marathon topless to show surgery scars are not something to be ashamed of.

Louise Butcher, 49, from Braunton is taking part in the race virtually, meaning she will follow a 26.2 mile course near her home in Devon.

And she will be doing the route bare-chested in a bid to help empower other women who have undergone mastectomies.

"I would find it hard to walk around showing my scars, but running gives me the extra strength," the mum-of-two explains.

"If you see a lady running past with no breasts it gets it out there and talked about."

Read more: What exactly happens during a mammogram?

Butcher was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2022. (Louise Butcher/SWNS)

Butcher was initially diagnosed with lobular breast cancer in April 2022.

She had started running 18 months previously and was in training for her first virtual London Marathon when she found out.

The charity volunteer discovered a lump when checking herself and her breast cancer diagnosis was later confirmed by an ultrasound.

Despite having cancer in just one breast, Butcher opted to have both her breasts removed.

And, determined not to let the diagnosis or radiotherapy treatment stop her from running, she completed last year's race in an impressive five hours and five minutes.

Read more: Breast cancer survivor gets confidence back after realistic nipple tattoo: 'I felt like part of me was missing'

Butcher also ran the London Marathon virtually last year. (Louise Butcher/SWNS)

"I've always run but I started running seriously about 18 months ago while training for last year's London Marathon," she says.

"Then halfway through I got diagnosed with cancer."

"I run for my mental health as it helps with my anxiety bouts and it really helped my cancer journey - keeping me strong and helping me recover from the surgeries."

While she is still undergoing hormone blocking treatment Butcher is keen to show others that breast cancer doesn't mean they have to stop doing what they love.

Read more: Samantha Womack reveals she is breast cancer-free but having ongoing treatment 'as a prevention'

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The mum-of-two says running gives her strength and has helped with her recovery. (Louise Butcher/SWNS)

So this year Butcher has decided to complete this year's virtual race, which will see her run from Braunton to Bideford and back again, without covering her scars.

She also plans to undertake a skydive later this year to raise money for local charity Over and Above, based in Barnstaple, which aims to support people living with cancer, providing additional treatment and supporting people during their recovery.

Watch: Sarah Beeny: TV presenter and property expert given all-clear after breast cancer diagnosis

"When I went on Facebook pages for support for women with breast cancer and mastectomies, I got a feeling from certain women that there was a fear of the scars," Butcher explains.

"For me it was a mixture of emotions – initially all I cared about was getting rid of the cancer, I wasn't thinking about my breasts or how I looked.

"I opted to have the second breast off rather than just one breast because it looked odd to me, so I had two surgeries to remove both.

"It's not something you ask for, but I'm proud of it now and want to empower other women to feel the same and to help those who don't feel that way to feel that empowerment."

She hopes to inspire other women not to feel impacted by their mastectomy scars. (Louise Butcher/SWNS)

Read more: Women's chances of surviving breast cancer increase by 60% with brisk daily walk or cycle ride

Butcher says running has played a big role in her recovery process and she hopes revealing her scars while she takes part this weekend will illustrate that strength.

"Exercise is a massive strength for me – it gives you a good feeling and endorphins," she explains.

Virtual London Marathon runners have a full 24 hours to complete their 26.2 miles on Sunday (April 23).

They can choose their own location and route, take breaks in this time and complete the marathon in as many runs as they like.

Participants then use the official TCS London Marathon App to log and track the run.

Additional reporting SWNS.

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