Early warning signs of breast cancer could be spotted in breast milk and blood, scientists say
- Blood and breast milk cancer tests could be used on women of any age
- Clarkson University experts identified 23 proteins in women with breast cancer
- Further studies could show whether identifying these could lead to tests
Warning signs of breast cancer could be spotted in breast milk and blood, scientists say.
Doctors hope the discovery could lead to a test for breast cancer in women who are not routinely offered mammograms.
The finding, by experts from New York’s Clarkson University, was made by analysing breast milk samples from six women.
Three were battling one of the most common types of breast cancer, called invasive ductal carcinoma.
Women with the disease were found to have similar levels of 23 specific proteins in their breastmilk, compared to those who did not have a tumour.
Danielle Whitham, one of the authors, said the proteins are also ‘detectable in blood’, meaning it won’t just apply to women who are pregnant or new mothers.
She said the results — if proven in bigger trials — means ‘screening could potentially be done in women of any age’. Mammograms are not usually recommended to low-risk women aged under 40.
Mammograms could be replaced by breast milk and blood tests in the future, researchers claimed today. Graphic shows: How breast milk or blood tests can be used to show whether a woman has breast cancer
Around 400,000 women are invited to mammograms every year in the UK. Every women aged 50 to 70 is invited for a screening every three years
Around 2million women are invited to mammograms every year in the UK. The NHS invites women aged 50 to 71 every three years.
Women in the US are encouraged to get on every year between the ages of 40 to 54, before switching to screenings every two years until they are 75.
Around 55,000 women and hundreds of men are told they have breast cancer each year in the UK.
Around 288,000 new cases of breast cancer are expected to be diagnosed in the US this year.
More than 85 per cent survive the disease for five years or more. But it is still crucial to spot tumours early, which can be helped with the new tests.
Ms Witham said: ‘Although mammograms are useful for catching breast cancer early, they aren’t typically recommended for low-risk women under 40.
‘Because the biomarkers found in breast milk are also detectable in blood, screening could potentially be done in women of any age using blood or breast milk.’
Breast milk contains proteins, epithelial cells and immune cells.
Ms Witham said they all ‘provide a great deal of information about what is happening in a woman’s body during a crucial time in breast development’.
The research was presented at the Experimental Biology 2022 meeting in Philadelphia.
Experts said wider studies are now needed to confirm the findings. They claimed the approach could also be used for other types of breast cancer as well.
Ms Witham added: ‘If our future studies are successful, it could change how women are monitored for breast cancer and aid in earlier diagnosis. This could even lead to a higher survival rate in women.’
She said similar tests can be done on blood samples so women who are not lactating can also be scanned for the disease.
Fifth of women invited for a mammogram don’t need one
Mammograms are not needed by a fifth of women in the UK who are invited for them, according to a top breast cancer expert.
It would be better to rule hundreds of thousands of women out of screening, sparing them the worry over mammogram results because they are at such low risk of the disease, according to Professor Fiona Gilbert, from Cambridge University.
Professor Gilbert, president of the European Society of Breast Imaging, who helped draw up national UK guidelines on breast screening, suggested a rethink of the current system when she addressed the UK Interdisciplinary Breast Cancer Symposium.
Currently all women aged 50 to 70 registered with a GP receive an invitation every three years for a mammogram, unless they have a strong family history of breast cancer or a genetic risk which means that they need more frequent appointments.
However, the ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach no longer works, Professor Gilbert suggested, raising the idea of completely stopping mammograms for women at low-risk of breast cancer.
This group can now be easily identified using their age, a questionnaire about their lifestyle and a genetic test from a cheek swab. They are estimated to make up a fifth of women invited for breast screening in the UK – around 400,000 women.
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