Breast cancer recurrence can be detected, research suggests ...

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While health sectors across the globe have been making significant inroads in the fight against breast

Dr. Surendra Persaud

cancer, it has been recognized that it yet remains a struggle to detect the recurrence and spread of the disease.
In Guyana, breast cancer has been touted as one of the leading causes of death among women, with available statistics revealing that it is the number two most deadly form of cancer in Guyana with cervical cancer taking its place at number one.
This is according to General Surgeon attached to Caribbean Surgery, at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital, Dr. Surendra Persaud, who has over the years maintained that the single course of effectively treating the disease is through early detection and treatment.
?The earlier we can find a woman with breast cancer the better are her chances of surviving.? This is possible even in light of the fact that there is yet no cure for any form of cancer, but rather, patients can go into remission.
However, reports emanating from the Queensland University of Technology in Australia suggest that there might be a way to better address the scourge of the disease. The monumental breakthrough, which is likely to see the prediction of the spread or return of breast cancer, was undertaken by PhD student Helen McCosker.
McCosker, a student at the Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation (IHBI), said that the research found that breast cancer?s interaction with its surrounding environment held the key to predicting whether it would grow, become dormant or spread to other organs.
?The ability to predict its progress is a huge step forward as it will ultimately enable doctors to select the most appropriate treatments for individual patients,? she said.
?This test should identify those patients who need their cancer removed but require no further treatment, those who need the tumour removed but also require additional treatment, for example, chemotherapy, and those who need more vigorous treatments.?
This will mean that patients should neither receive unnecessary treatments nor be undertreated when a more aggressive medical response is required.
Ms McCosker said the new test would use the tissue surrounding the cancer cells, which were collected for biopsy purposes, but were currently not examined. As such the test makes better use of tissue that is already being collected anyway, ?so from the patient?s point of view there would be no change; no new test,? she added.
She said too that the next step was to develop an easy-to-use, accurate online programme that doctors would use to diagnose cancer progression.

Helen McCosker

?Ultimately, doctors should be able to key the results of the examination of tissue samples into an online programme with built-in mathematical models and be presented with a clear answer as to the likelihood of cancer progression.?
She added that the test would offer solutions for a wide range of patients, particularly those with more advanced, aggressive disease that could spread to other organs, as well as those in rural and remote areas with limited access to advanced medical services.
?The next step is to seek financial backing to fine-tune and commercialise the current prototype. It?s expected our models will be trialled in pathology laboratories over the coming years and if successful rolled out over the next five to 10 years,? Ms McCosker said.
It is expected that the test, which is being funded by the Wesley Research Institute, should ultimately be applicable to other forms of cancer.
The new development once recognized as a legitimate medical strategy could prove to be valuable to the fight against the disease across the globe.? At the moment, Dr. Persaud said, Guyana already has been utilizing everything that is needful to address breast cancer, right down to the screening process.
The screening process is especially important when addressing some forms of cancer, as according to the expert physician, this could help to detect cancer at hopefully an even earlier stage, allowing for it to be tackled in a timely manner.
?If we are able to detect breast cancer in a woman at Stage One instead of Stage Four her survival is much better, so that is why screening is so important.?
Generally there are three parts when it comes to the detection of breast cancer, according to Dr. Persaud. This, he said, includes self breast examination, which is done by the woman herself; clinical breast examination which is done by a clinician who exams women?s breasts on a regular basis, and then there is the mammogram.
However, in Guyana there seems to be an overuse of ultrasonography in breast conditions and this is something that physicians are working on, he added. But in order to avoid the overuse of the ultrasonography technology, physicians are essentially advocating for women over the age of 18 to start examining their own breasts approximately seven to 10 days after their menstruation, Dr. Persaud noted.
However, ?although the signs have suggested that there isn?t a tremendous benefit for this, we feel that it is good to have women feel comfortable with their own bodies especially in a country like Guyana where we have some cultural issues about women touching their bodies??
But should this prove to be a problem, Dr. Persaud asserted that women can always rely on a health worker who can afford breast examinations at six-month intervals. Nevertheless, an annual mammogram has for years been deemed essential.

Source: http://www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/2011/12/14/breast-cancer-recurrence-can-be-detected-research-suggests/

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