Research Finds This New Way To Fight Secondary Breast Cancer

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Breast cancer is one of the most dreaded word among women. Despite several treatment and preventive measures, few women succumb to this deadly disease, and this happens mainly because of late diagnosis.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO) report, breast cancer is one of the leading cause of cancer deaths among women.

One of the worst part about breast cancer is that, if proper care is not taken then, there are high chances of recurrence. This puts the breast cancer patients at a risk of developing aggressive secondary tumours.

In order to prevent its recurrence, researchers at the University of Sheffield in the UK have found a potential new genetic test.

According to the researchers, women with breast cancer who lack a key genetic marker are more likely to respond to a treatment that can prevent the disease spreading to their bones.

Several studies have pointed out that metastasis or commonly known as the secondary cancer is the most common cause of death in breast cancer patients. And this happens as there are only a few effective treatments once it has taken root.

So how does secondary breast cancer occur?

It occurs when cancer cells spread to another site in the body. Around 70 per cent of secondary breast cancer patients have tumours in the bone. It has been found that large scale clinical trials indicate a group of bone strengthening drugs known as bisphosphonates can help prevent the disease from spreading to bone in breast cancer patients if given early enough.

"The difficulty is identifying which patients will benefit from these drugs. It only seems to be effective in some patients, particularly older women, while others show no response and in some younger women it may even be harmful" said Professor Robert Coleman, emeritus professor of medical oncology who led the new study.

According to the new study, it has been found that it may be possible to identify women who will benefit from bisphosphonates by using a test that looks for a gene known as MAF.

Women who do not carry the gene, approximately 80 per cent of women with breast cancer were found to benefit from the bone strengthening treatment. "If the test is negative for this gene, then they can be offered this bone strengthening treatment, which can give them a better chance of surviving their cancer," Coleman said.

The study which was part of an international phase 3 clinical trial had taken into consideration 3,360 women with stage II or III breast cancer. The second trial for the study is under way in the United States and approval is awaited.

The study was recently published in the journal Lancet Oncology.

(With Agency Inputs)