Blood Test for Breast Cancer

Blood Test For Breast Cancer
Biochemists Develop Proteomic Test For Breast Cancer

Biochemists look at 22 protein biomarkers to distinguish patients with breast cancer from those without it. The early detection test complements mammograms and is most applicable to women who are at a high risk for the disease.

The test analyzes blood serum and researchers are using a similar process to develop

a test for Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases.

A new blood test could tell you if you have breast cancer before it shows up on a mammogram.

They've created a test that can detect breast cancer even when a mammogram doesn't. It's called the BC-SeraPro.

Proteomics is similar to genetic testing, but while genetic testing screens for disease causing genes, proteomics looks for certain protein markers in a person's blood.

"The method analyzes specific proteins and these proteins show what is going on with the patient in terms of the disease and how the disease is playing out on the patient," Dr. Goldknopf says.

Early studies show the BC-SeraPro has a 90% success rate. It's just one of two tests being launched by Power3 medical. "Any disease that has a need we will be able to find a blood test for," says Steve Rash, CEO of Power3 Medical.

Doctors say this test is ideal for women who are considered at high risk for breast cancer. The test should be available in breast cancer clinics early next year.

WHAT ARE BLOOD MARKERS? A blood marker is any component in the blood that's associated with a condition, disease or symptom. Blood markers can indicate whether a system is healthy and functioning properly or if there's something wrong. In recent years, several studies have shown that higher amounts of proteins in the blood may be associated with various diseases. ABOUT BREAST CANCER: Breast cancer is a type of cancer in which cells in the breast become abnormal and grow and divide uncontrollably, eventually forming a mass called a tumor. Malignant tumors have cells that can invade nearby tissues. More than 75 percent of breast cancers begin in the milk ducts within the breast.

A total of 177 women took part, all of whom already had stage 4 breast cancer, the most advanced form of the disease.

The new test reportedly will reduce the waiting time to just weeks.

Cells from malignant tumors can break off and travel through lymphatic and blood vessels. If the new test shows that a woman has no circulating cancer cells, she may not need further treatment. If the test shows that lots of cells are circulating, more aggressive treatment is indicated.

Researchers also plan to investigate whether the new test also works for patients with colon, lung and prostate cancer.

Blood test finds breast cancer at its earliest stage

Researchers have claimed that scans can actually trigger the disease in some women

A new blood test that detects breast cancer at its earliest stage could become a vital weapon in fighting the disease.

Scientists found the test could pinpoint cancer long before it would show up using other methods.

Trial results showed it was up to 1,000 times more sensitive than existing tests.

Breast cancer is the most common female cancer, with 1.1million new cases each year.

Cancer specialists found radiation from the X-rays leaves those with a family history of breast cancer more than 50 per cent more likely to develop it.

The new blood test offers the best hope.

Early detection of cancer gives the best chance of effective treatment. "Our pilot studies show that using blood samples, breast cancer and several other types of epithelial cancers (ovarian, prostate, melanoma) can be detected with much better sensitivity and specificity," she said.

It would also help in distinguishing malignant and benign tumours and in monitoring cancer therapy.

Stephen Duffy, Cancer Research UK's professor of screening, said further trials are needed before the test can be used by doctors.

Bladder Cancer Treatments

Treatment

Treatment for bladder cancer depends on the stage of the disease, the type of cancer, and the patient's age and overall health. Options include surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, and immunotherapy. In some cases, treatments are combined (e.g., surgery or radiation and chemotherapy, preoperative radiation).

Surgery

In early bladder cancer, the tumor may be removed (resected) using instruments inserted through the urethra (transurethral resection).

Bladder cancer that has spread to surrounding tissue (e.g., Stage T2 tumors, Stage T3a tumors) usually requires partial or radical removal of the bladder (cystectomy). Complications include infection, urinary stones, and urine blockages. In women with T2 to T3a tumors, the standard surgical procedure is radical cystectomy (removal of the bladder and surrounding organs) with pelvic lymphadenectomy. Radical cystectomy in women also involves removal of the uterus (womb), ovaries, fallopian tubes, anterior vaginal wall (front of the birth canal), and urethra (tube that carries urine from the bladder out of the body). Segmental cystectomy (partial removal of the bladder), which is a bladder-preserving procedure, may be used in some cases (e.g., patients with squamous cell carcinomas or adenocarcinomas that arise high in the bladder dome). Urinary Tract Diversion

Until recently, most bladder cancer patients who underwent cystectomy (bladder removal) required an ostomy (surgical creation of an artificial opening) and an external bag to collect urine. Newer reconstructive surgical methods include the continent urinary reservoir, the neobladder, and the ileal conduit.

Complications of the ileal conduit procedure include bowel obstruction, urinary tract infection (UTI), blood clots, pneumonia, upper urinary tract damage, and skin breakdown around the stoma.

What is Bladder Cancer?

The bladder is an expandable, hollow organ in the pelvis that stores urine (the body's liquid waste) before it leaves the body during urination. The urinary tract, made up of the kidneys, ureters, bladder, and urethra, is lined with a layer of transitional cells called the urothelium. The lamina propria separates tumors that have spread into muscle (called invasive cancer) from those that have not (superficial or non-invasive cancers).

Bladder cancers are malignant tumors that begin in the bladder. Different bladder cancers are described by how deep they grow and if they grow into the bladder or through the muscles around the bladder (superficial or invasive).

There are three types of bladder cancer: transitional cell carcinoma, or TCC (about 90% of bladder cancer cases); squamous cell carcinomas (about 8%); and adenocarcinomas (about 2%). All three types can metastasize beyond the bladder.

Bladder Cancer - Treatment Overview

The choice of treatment and the long-term outcome (prognosis) for people who have bladder cancer depends on the stage and grade of cancer. Bladder cancer is usually curable if it is diagnosed while the cancer is still contained in the bladder, and up to 80% of bladder cancers are diagnosed at this early stage.3

Treatment choices for bladder cancer may include:

Surgery to remove the cancer. Surgery, either alone or in combination with radiation therapy, chemotherapy, or biological therapy, is used more than 90% of the time to treat bladder cancer.1

Chemotherapy to destroy cancer cells using medications. Radiation therapy to destroy cancer cells using high-dose X-rays or other high-energy rays. Biological therapy to boost your body's immune system to fight cancer cells. This therapy is commonly used to prevent the return (recurrence) of bladder cancer.

Initial treatment

Surgery is used to treat most stages of bladder cancer.

Transurethral resection (TUR) is used to remove large superficial bladder tumors or tumors that penetrate more deeply into the tissue but have not spread outside the bladder.

Surgical removal of the bladder (cystectomy) is usually done for the most advanced stages of cancer that is confined to the bladder. Cystectomy may also be done for high-grade bladder cancers or when there are multiple tumors in the bladder.

Chemotherapy uses medications to destroy cancer cells. For superficial bladder cancer, the medications may be delivered directly into the bladder using a catheter (intravesically). Radiation therapy, which uses high-dose X-rays or other high-energy rays to destroy cancer cells, is one of the standard treatments for certain types of bladder cancer. Home treatment can help manage some of the side effects of radiation therapy.

Biological therapy is most often used for superficial bladder cancer.