BREAST CANCER RESEARCH AND TREATMENT
funding a large , long-term study to help find the causes of breast cancer . Dubbed The Sister Study , it has enrolled 50,000 women who have sisters with breast cancer and will follow them for at least 10 years and collect information on their genes , lifestyle and environmental factors that may attribute to causing breast cancer . The following are the latest breast cancer topics being researched , according to the American Cancer Society :
Chemoprevention The retinoid fenretinide is being studied as a way to reduce the risk of breast cancer . Related to vitamin A , this drug reduced breast cancer risk as much as tamoxifen .
“ Vitamin D deficiency has been attributed to cancer returning to a patient .”
Additional drugs , such as aromatase inhibitors , are also being studied to reduce the risk of breast cancer .
Ductal carcinoma in situ ( DCIS ) In some women , DCIS can result in invasive breast cancer , along with other forms of cancer . DCIS is relative to each patient as DCIS cells may never invade and remain localized within the ducts , resulting in a case that is not life-threatening .
Research being done with DCIS is being conducted to determine the odds that a woman ’ s DCIS will become invasive and ways to help with these challenges . Some of these methods are based on routinely available clinical information about the patient and her DCIS , whereas others also include information about changes in the tumor ’ s genes .
The test Oncotype Dx DCIS Score can be used to predict a woman ’ s chance of DCIS returning or a new cancer developing in the same breast if she does not receive radiation treatment . According to the American Cancer Society , however , the test has not been studied well enough to predict how much someone would benefit from radiation after surgery for DCIS .
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