Jahnavi Sarma
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Written By: Jahnavi Sarma | Published : May 19, 2020 5:24 PM IST
Researchers say that the findings help expand scientific understanding of the genetic architecture of breast cancer. @Shutterstock
Breast cancer accounts for almost 27 per cent of all cancers among women. Most deaths that result from this disease is because of lack of awareness and late screening. This is also one of the leading cause of death among women across the world. Experts have tried to develop better screening and identification of risk aggregators. Now, in a welcome development, an analysis by researchers at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, says that there are 32 new sites on the human genome where variations in DNA appear to alter the risks of getting breast cancer. Researchers looked at genetic studies covering 266,000 women. Experts say that the findings of this analysis are the first to link such risk variants to multiple, detailed subtypes of breast cancer. Nature Genetics published this analysis.
Researchers included new methods allowing the identification of DNA variants that have heterogeneous effects across subtypes, such as Luminal-A and triple negative, which can be defined by various tumor characteristics. This was done in collaboration with many institutions, including the National Cancer Institute in the U.S., Harvard University's T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Cambridge University, and Netherlands Cancer Institute. Researchers are hopeful that this will improve the ability to predict women's breast cancer risks, even at the level of specific breast cancer subtype.
The analysis identified 32 new risk variants for breast cancer generally. Fifteen variants were inked independently to one or more specific breast cancer subtypes. Seven of the 15 were linked to estrogen receptor status, seven to the tumor grade, four to HER2 receptor status and two to progesterone receptor status. Researchers say that the findings help expand scientific understanding of the genetic architecture of breast cancer, and in principle allow oncologists to now calculate more accurate, potentially subtype-specific, risk scores for women based on the combinations of variants they have. They also add that this may lead to new discoveries about the underlying biological pathways that drive cancer.
Breast cancer is a common disease and millions of women across the world suffer from this condition. While there is nothing much that you can do about some of the risk factors like family history and genes, you can take some preventive measures to reduce your risk factor. Many studies have shown that lifestyle modification can significantly bring down your risk of breast cancer. Obesity is a major cause. So lose weight immediately if you are overweight. Avoid smoking and say no to alcohol. Be physically active and protect yourself from environmental pollution. Regular exercise goes a long way in bringing down your risk of this disease.
You risk may be affected by the diet that you follow. A healthy, well-balanced diet is a must if you want to avoid this disease. According to some experts, a Mediterranean diet is the best for women who are at high risk. Plant-based foods are good. You must include a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables to your regular diet. Also include whole grains, legumes and nuts to your daily diet. For protein, fish is better than meat. Avoid red meat but lean meat is fine in moderation.
