Article

Personalizing Prevention of Invasive Breast Cancer

Author(s):

Melissa Weber

By identifying women at low risk for breast cancer, resources can be redirected to high-risk women, thus lowering the incidence of breast cancer, said Jack Cuzick, PhD, on Wednesday during an educational session about breast cancer prevention. It’s a goal, he said, that should be achievable within 10 to 20 years.

Jack Cuzick, PhD,

By identifying women at low risk for breast cancer, resources can be redirected to high-risk women, thus lowering the incidence of breast cancer, said on Wednesday during an educational session about breast cancer prevention. It’s a goal, he said, that should be achievable within 10 to 20 years.

Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine in London, highlighted research that looked at women with dense breast tissue, which is a known risk factor. For women with dense breasts who had at least a 10 percent reduction in tissue density while taking tamoxifen, there was a 63 percent reduction in the risk of breast cancer, one study found.

Cuzick, of the

selective estrogen receptor modulators

Tamoxifen, approved for reducing breast cancer risk in women 35 and older at higher risk for breast cancer, is part of a class of drugs called SERMs (), which block the effects of estrogen. Evista (raloxifene), which is approved for reducing the risk of invasive breast cancer in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis, also belongs to this class of agents.

In addition to these approved agents, a number of other drugs are making their way through clinical testing, including a drug approved to treat HER2-positive breast cancer as well as a diabetes drug.

Journal of Clinical Oncology

Speaker Judy Garber, MD, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, said the therapeutic drug Tykerb (lapatinib) is currently being tested as a risk-reducing agent in women with ductal carcinoma in situ, or DCIS (stage 0 non-invasive breast cancer). For diabetics, research has shown that metformin, a drug to treat type 2 diabetes, not only lowered the rate of all cancers, but for those who did develop cancer, a study published earlier this year in the showed those patients had a better response to chemotherapy given before surgery. A phase 3 trial sponsored by the

National Cancer Institute will test whether giving metformin for five years after breast cancer treatment reduces the risk of recurrence, Garber said. The study is scheduled to start enrolling patients next year.

Other drugs of interest include the cholesterol-lowering medication fluvastatin, which is being tested in women with DCIS before surgery, and PARP inhibitors, a class of drugs getting a lot of attention in triple-negative breast cancer. A PARP inhibitor prevention study has been proposed for women who carry a BRCA mutation, said Garber.

CURE

sabcs2009.curetoday.com

This article is a part of ’s 2009 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium coverage. To read more articles from SABCS 2009, visit .

Related Videos
Image of a woman with wavy blonde hair wearing glasses.
Image of a woman with tied back hair, wearing pearl earrings.
Image of a woman with layered hair, wearing a bright blue cardigan.
Image of a woman wearing a red tank top.
Image of Annie Bond.
Image of a man with rectangular glasses and short dark hair.
Image of a woman with long dark hair.
Image of Kristen Dahlgren at Extraordinary Healer.
Image of a woman with short blonde hair wearing a white blazer.
Related Content
An open hand with a heart above it in front of a colorful background.
October 20th 2024

Selfless Acts of Service in Cancer Care

Marie Davis, RN-BSN Natosha Williams
A colleague and a patient with cancer each submitted nominating essays about an oncology nurse who made an impact in their lives.
FDA, Cancer Vaccine Updates and a Misguiding of Breast Cancer Treatment
February 5th 2024

FDA, Cancer Vaccine Updates and a Misguiding of Breast Cancer Treatment

Alex Biese Brielle Benyon
One cancer vaccine may still be years away from being available, a breast cancer test may be misguiding treatments for Black women and the review of two oncology regimens are being expedited by the FDA.
Image of surgeons performing a surgery.
October 18th 2024

Danielle Fishel Undergoes Surgery for Breast Cancer, TikTok Star Dies of Rare Liver Cancer and More

Ashley Chan
From “Boy Meets World” actress Danielle Fishel discussing her breast cancer surgery to a young TikTok star dying from a rare liver cancer, here’s what’s happening in the cancer space this week.
Cancer Horizons podcast logo
December 12th 2023

Conference Highlights from SABCS

Alex Biese Brielle Benyon
CURE® recently covered the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium. In case you missed it, here is some news that came out of the conference that patients should know about.
This image was generated by Adobe Firefly.
October 14th 2024

Circulating Tumor DNA May Predict Postsurgical Breast Cancer Relapse

Alex Biese
For some patients with breast cancer, ctDNA may have the potential to predict disease relapse after they have undergone surgery and chemotherapy.
Illustration of a woman with shoulder-length gray hair, wearing glasses.
October 14th 2024

From Survivor to Survivors: Best Wishes for Recovering From a Storm

Felicia Mitchell
When natural disasters come, they affect everybody, including people dealing with cancer. I hope for speedy recoveries to patients affected by Hurricane Helene.