by Rosie Molinary

We know to do monthly breast self-exams and to begin having annual mammograms at the age of 40. But advances in breast cancer research are happening rapidly, and keeping up with the latest insight on preventing, detecting and treating breast cancer can be a challenge for even the most health-savvy woman. Here's a highlight of breast cancer advances from the past year to help you champion your health.

Advances in Breast Cancer Prevention

Run for your life. In February 2007, researchers with the California Teachers Study (an ongoing study of more than 133,000 educators by a consortium of breast cancer researchers) released results from their recent study on physical activity. While most of us may know that getting in at least three 30-minute sessions of cardiovascular activity a week can be beneficial for our health, what we may not know is that regular, strenuous exercise can reduce a woman's risk for breast cancer by 20 to 30 percent. Leslie Bernstein, PhD, a researcher with the California Teachers Study, would love to see all women logging at least three hours of heart-pumping cardio per week. "‘Strenuous' doesn't mean you have to get on a track and run, but it means pushing yourself when you walk, like walking hills," she says. And once you've worked up to three hours, try adding more, bit by bit, until you hit five hours per week, the amount of cardio that was shown to reduce risk the most in the study. "We can never say that we know something will prevent breast cancer," says Dr. Bernstein. "But we can now say that in groups of women, those who exercise fare better than those who do not. That has been confirmed in study after study, and this study shows that the duration of exercise matters." So get out your sneakers and get moving. Who knew each step could have a positive impact on your breast health?

Fortify yourself. A study published in a May 2007 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine revealed that premenopausal women who got 1,300 milligrams or more of calcium a day from supplements and food had a 40 percent lower risk of developing breast cancer than women who consumed 600 milligrams or less. And calcium is not the only nutrient that you should bone up on: Premenopausal women who took a daily dose of 500 IU or more of vitamin D from foods and supplements had a 35 percent lower breast-cancer risk than women who took 160 IU or less. Researchers suspect that the vitamin and mineral may have a role in inhibiting the adverse changes in the mammary tissue that result from elevated levels of hormones (e.g., sex and growth hormones), lifestyle or other, unknown factors. For the best breast cancer defense, aim to get at least 1,000 mg of calcium and 400 IU of vitamin D per day by popping a multivitamin and a calcium supplement. Getting a little sunshine can boost your vitamin D levels, too. Want to up your intake of these nutrients naturally? Add low-fat dairy products, leafy green vegetables, nuts, fortified juices and fatty fish like tuna, salmon and mackerel to your diet.
  
Advances in Breast Cancer Detection

Risk assessment. We've heard a lot about breast Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) lately, and for good reason, as it is a useful tool for women with a high risk of breast cancer. But what constitutes high risk? This spring, the American Cancer Society released new recommendations calling for annual MRI to be used in addition to mammograms for women with a lifetime risk for breast cancer of approximately 20 to 25 percent or greater, based on the BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutation, a relative with the gene mutation, or a diagnosis of Li-Fraumeni, Cowden or Bannayan-Riley-Ruvalcaba syndrome. Those whose risk is between 15 and 20 percent (also largely dependent on family history) should discuss with their doctors what kind of screening might be best. Richard Bleicher, MD, a surgical oncologist at Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia, cautions women whose risk is below 15 percent against pressuring their doctors for an MRI. "MRI is really excellent in certain situations, but it is not a substitute for mammograms or ultrasounds," Dr. Bleicher says. "It oftentimes shows things that look suspicious that are in fact are nothing, causing unnecessary biopsies." If your risk is below 15 percent, stick to monthly self-exams, annual clinical exams and mammograms. Unsure about your risk? Use the question-and-answer survey tool and get more information about risk factors at breastcancerprevention.org to give you a rough idea, and then discuss your results with your doctor.

Advances in Breast Cancer Treatment

Biology matters. The use of biologic agents (substances that differ from chemotherapy in that they target specific receptors in the pathways to cancer, as well as some normal cells) is an exciting advance in the treatment of breast cancer. Women diagnosed with metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer (a more aggressive form of the disease, in which the cancer cells grow and divide more quickly) began using the biologic agent Herceptin, an antibody that suppresses HER2 activity, in 1998. But less than a year ago, the FDA approved Herceptin for use as an additional treatment not just for metastatic forms of the disease, but for treating early stage HER2-positive breast cancer as well. "In these cases, Herceptin can reduce the
likelihood of recurrence and improve the chance of survival," says Steven Limentani, MD, the associate medical director for clinical trials at the Blumenthal Cancer Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. If you've had an early-stage HER2 diagnosis, talk to your doctor about whether or not Herceptin is right for you.There are other biologic agents to treat breast cancer making their way through clinical trials and FDA approval as well.
Avastin, an antibody that chokes off the blood supply to cancer cells, has already been approved for the treatment of lung and colon cancer, and has shown great promise as a partner with Taxol (a chemotherapy drug) in reducing the progression of disease in advanced breast cancer. In February 2008, the FDA approved it for this use. Dr. Limentani and other researchers are studying Avastin's benefit on earlier stages of the disease. If you have recently been diagnosed with advanced breast cancer, ask your doctor about it.

This one's for the girls. Whole-breast radiation is still the standard for care after a lumpectomy, but partial-breast radiation — a targeted radiation treatment that focuses on the specific spot in the breast thought to be most likely to develop a recurrence — started clinical trails in 2005 and is now being employed when appropriate. It's best used in a protocol setting or clinical study. There are several benefits. "Women can have pain and swelling after radiation to the whole breast, and the idea here is to decrease that likelihood," says Limentani. In addition to having fewer side effects, treatment time with partial-breast radiation is shorter. If you are interested in having partial-breast radiation, ask your doctor about it.

Find more breast cancer information at MyLifetime.com

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